


Invasion

by Titch360



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2017-07-25
Packaged: 2018-12-04 01:37:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 44,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11544726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Titch360/pseuds/Titch360
Summary: The threat of war is the least of their worries.





	1. Chapter 1

Invasion

Chapter 1

 

Damian walked slowly into the cave following a tense dinner on Friday evening.  The family had barely been able to finish their silent meal before they separated to parts unknown to the youngest member of the family.  Damian had noticed tension building slowly over the past couple weeks, and just figured that work wasn't going well.  Ever since the school year began, Damian had been far too busy to keep track of the happenings at Wayne Enterprises.  Some days, it was all he could do to keep up with the happenings of the Warrington School.

However, a week of nightly Justice League meetings had turned the boy's mind away from business complications.  The meetings ran late into the night, long past his weekday bedtime, and as such, he had no chance to ask his father what was going on.  It became a common event through the week that the only other person Damian saw this week was Alfred, and he was in the dark about current events, just as Damian was.  It had been a struggle to follow Alfred's advice, but Damian trusted that Bruce would tell him everything he needed to know, and he hadn't tried to push for an explanation of events.

He hadn't really had a chance to push for information lately.  This evening's dinner was the first time he had actually seen his father since Monday morning.  Damian was desperate for information, but Bruce had been sending out Batman-level glares at any extra noise during the short meal.

Arriving at the bottom of the stairs, Damian found Batman, fully dressed and waiting impatiently at the computer.  "Go get dressed; we're late," was growled ominously at the youth, when his presence was noticed.

Confused, Damian asked, "Isn't it a little early for patrol, Father?"

"We aren't patrolling tonight."

"But, it's Friday," slipped from the boy's shocked lips before he could stop it.  He winced as the Bat turned and leveled a full glare at him.  "Sorry, Father.  It's just...I haven't seen you all week.  I was looking forward to tonight.  I...I missed you."

Batman took a deep breath to try to settle himself.  He hadn't even realized that he hadn't seen his youngest in several days.  "That was unavoidable," Batman said, in Bruce's voice, "And it wasn't your fault.  Now, go get dressed.  You have a mission."

Damian nodded and turned towards the locker room.  He only made it three steps before he stopped in his tracks as his mind slammed to a halt.  "Wait, _I_ have a mission?  You said I couldn't do solo work until I was sixteen."

Batman winced, "No choice in this situation.  You were requested by all involved.  Hurry up, I'll explain more when we get there."

Several minutes later, Batman and Robin stepped out of the Zeta Tube to the computerized announcement, "Recognize Batman, A-02.  Recognize Robin, F-01."

A smile broke out on Robin's face, "I have a Justice League clearance now?"

Batman tried his best not to match the smile on his son's face.  "Like I said before, there was no choice in the situation."

"I didn't know there _was_ an 'F' level clearance."

Robin could have sworn there was a smirk on Batman's face.  "That's because you aren't a member of the Justice League, yet."

Robin looked up critically and said, "F sounds like an awfully low level, A-Zero-Two."

"It will be enough for this mission."

"Which is what, Father?  This is Mount Justice, right?"

Batman nodded, looking around the old control room.  "Very good, Robin.  We are at Mount Justice.  A week ago, the Justice league received a credible threat."

"Terrorists," Robin asked.

"Worse.  Brainiac."

Batman could tell that Robin's eyes were as wide as they could get under his mask.  "What does he want, Batman?" the boy asked.

Batman sighed, "Metas.  His message stated he found a way to absorb Meta energy to power his machines.  He's planning on abducting and draining all Metas on Earth.  Superman and Martian Manhunter believe the process will be fatal to anyone Brainiac gets his hands on."

"Shit," Robin whispered.

"Yes," Batman replied dryly.

"Are we going to space to fight Brainiac," Robin asked, with just a hint of eagerness and excitement in his voice.

"No."  Batman almost smiled as Robin's expression fell.  "Nightwing and I are going to space to fight Brainiac, along with the core of the League.  You are staying right here."

Robin looked around at his surroundings.  "Here?  Wasn't this base compromised?  If you want me to be safe somewhere, why not just leave me at home?"

Batman was proud that Robin had remembered the detail of the base, without ever having to be told to research it.  "Yes, this base was compromised, and it was widely publicized that it had been stripped, and the mountain filled back in, after the Justice League moved operations to the Watchtower."

"This place hardly looks stripped and filled."

"That's because it wasn't.  The defenses have been improved, and it has been held in reserve for situations like now.  This base has been reactivated for a special project.  Brainiac wants Metas.  We aren't going to give him any.  While the core of the League is away, League affiliates will be scouring the planet for all the Metas we can find.  We are setting up holding facilities around the world, and this is one of them.  You, Robin, were chosen to be in charge of this facility."

Robin smiled for a second before his look flattened.  "Wait, if Brainiac is collecting Metas, wouldn't I be more useful out there?  Don't we want as few super-powered beings as possible in range of Brainiac?  I don't have any special powers.  Aren't you and I reasonably safe from this threat?"

"I told you he would say that, Batman."

A new voice caused Batman and Robin to turn towards the Zeta Tube, as Superman strode over with a smile.  "Robin, you are absolutely right.  You are safer than most of the people we will be sending against Brainiac when his armada arrives tomorrow.  You are also reasonably well-suited for the job we have chosen for you."

Robin looked skeptical.  "While I'm ready for just about anything you can assign me, am I supposed to believe that a world full of Metas are going to listen to one teenager in a mask and cape?"

"Your connection to me is more than enough to earn you a little latitude," Batman said, "the rest is up to you."

"Given the plan for this facility, your age will actually be a benefit," Superman said.  "Right now, we know of four Metas who will be joining you here.  More might come, but we just aren't sure yet.  Speaking of which, here is your first roommate."

Superman gestured to his side, and a skinny waif of a Superman mini-me materialized from the Man of Steel's shadow.  He was a hair taller than Robin, but lacked the older boy's visible muscle mass.  Shaggy black hair almost hid curious blue eyes.  The zip-up Superman sweatshirt with the sewn-on red cape made it obvious who this was, but Superman introduced him anyway.

"Batman, Robin, this is Superboy."

"That's original," Robin said softly, hiding his snort of laughter.  Batman heard it anyway, and rolled his eyes under his cowl.

The younger boy seemed not to hear the comment, and just waved and said, "Hi."

"Wait a minute," Robin said, "Did you say roommate?"

"Yes, he did," Batman said.  "You will be staying here to watch out for all those who are brought in."

Robin looked up at Batman and asked, "For how long?"

"Until the crisis is averted and the situation is over," Batman said softly.

Superman spoke up, "Projections show Brainiac's armada arriving in system around three A.M.  We don't know size or strength yet, but if it is anything like the last time he tried to invade the Earth, it's going to be a long weekend for us.  The world's militaries have been put on alert, but hopefully we won't have to call on them."

Robin looked back and forth between the adults, trying to judge what he should believe.  "So, you figure on two, three days?"

"Four," Batman said, "Just in case."

Robin nodded, then said quietly, leaning in towards Batman, "What about school on Monday?  I can't afford to fall behind; not if I'm going to finish this year."

Batman nodded, "Agent A is very concerned about the high fever you will be developing on Monday morning.  You could be sick all week.  Try to feel better soon, son."

Superboy tugged on Superman's cape with a smile and asked, "Does this mean I get to miss school on Monday, too, Dad?"

Superman smiled down and replied, "Your mother wasn't too happy about that, but you're safer here."

Another announcement from the Zeta Tube heralded the arrival of Flash.  Batman shook his head as the red-clad man appeared at his side.  "It always amazes me how the fastest man on Earth is perpetually late to everything."

Flash shook his head and said, "Cut me some slack, Batman.  It's not easy wrangling these two."

"These two?" Robin asked, looking over to see two orange jumpsuit-clad youths, a girl with bright red pigtails and a boy with short brown hair, jabbering away like old friends with a smiling Superboy.

Batman leaned over to Superman and asked quietly, "They've met before?"

"A couple weeks ago," was murmured back.  "Kids, come over here for a second."

The two youths trooped over dutifully to stand next to Flash.  Superman smiled at the kids and said, "Kids, this is Robin.  He's going to look out for you for a couple days.  Robin, this is Impulse and...I'm sorry, Flash, did he ever come up with a name?"

Flash blushed slightly and said, "I think we're still looking.  We've been trying out Mercury, but that might not stick."

Superman shrugged, "Mercury, huh?  I kinda like it.  We can go with that for now."

Awkward greetings were passed between the children.  For as much as they were aware of each other's existence, this was the first time they had all met in person.

Robin looked around the room and finally realized what was being asked of him.  Taking all he was going to take, Robin turned to Batman and said coldly, "A word, Father?"

Father and son walked across the room to speak.  Flash said softly to Superman, but not so softly that he wasn't overheard by Batman and Robin, "Yep, I was expecting this."

"Yes, Robin?" Batman said, trying to keep a level tone.

Robin hissed, "My super-secret mission is to play _babysitter_?  No, Father.  I can't do that."

"Why not?"

Robin leaned in even closer, "I don't like children, Father.  You know I have no tolerance for frustration.  It's all I can do to handle Todd and Drake some days."

"Robin, you may not see it, but this is an important mission."

Robin's eyes widened under the mask, "How is this _possibly_ an important mission?"

"Think about it," Batman said in a serious tone, "Brainiac wants Metas.  These children _are_ Metas.  Do you think Brainiac is going to go after the strongest or the weakest first?  That is where you come in.  Brainiac's henchmen are not going to expect the level of thought and strategy that you are able to come up with from one so young.  You will have the advantage here."

"I can handle dealing with Brainiac.  I don't know how to deal with children, Father."

Superman appeared on one side of Batman, Flash walked over and stood on the Dark Knight's other side.  "This is very important, Robin," Superman said.  "What you will be doing is preserving the future of the Justice League.  I assume that your plan still is to one day be Batman?"

Robin glanced up at the man in black before replying, "Yes."

Superman nodded, "Part of being Batman includes a seat on the Justice League main council.  Like it or not, these children share that same destiny, but only if they survive this crisis."

Flash nodded at Superman's comments before adding his own.  "If nothing else, Robin, these are our children.  There is nothing we care about in this world more than them.  We are going off to fight Brainiac, in order to make the world safe for them, and for you."

Robin sighed, "Okay, but why me, though?  Surely there is someone better suited to the task, someone who at least knows your children."

Nightwing, who had just arrived at Mount Justice, threw an arm around Robin's shoulders and said, "You would be surprised.  The list of potential names was a lot smaller than we hoped.  In the end, you were chosen because all three super-parents here felt you were the one name on the list that could be trusted absolutely to keep everyone safe.  With you on guard, they won't have to worry about what is happening here; they can focus on getting rid of Brainiac without distraction."

Robin sighed again as he looked over at the line of wide-eyed youths, staring at the adult conversation.  Little did Robin know that seeing him having this conversation with their heroes had the effect of placing Robin among their ranks as someone to be listened to and trusted.  "I don't even know them," he said softly.

"Then here is a chance to _get_ to know them," Nightwing said with a smile.

"You all want me to spend a long weekend with them.  What are we supposed to do?  Play?  I don't know how to do that."

"It's never too late to learn, Robin," Batman said softly, surprising the crowd.

Superman said, "Whatever you decide on will be up to you.  You're in charge.  Flash and I have already spoken to our kids, they'll listen to you."

Nightwing continued Superman's thought, "Don't go overboard with it, Robin, and you'll be fine.  You are the oldest, you have the most field experience, and, if you hadn't noticed, they are already looking at you like an authority figure."

Robin took a deep breath and closed his eyes, "Fine.  Just remember, though, this was your idea."

"We know, Robin," Superman said with a smile.  "We all must sacrifice in times of need.  Your sacrifice is understood, noted...and deeply appreciated."

Flash disappeared from Batman's side, reappearing on the other side of the room with both of his kids in his arms.  Superman walked off at a less super pace, but ended up at the same spot as Flash, with Superboy clinging to his neck tightly.  Robin looked up at Batman, realizing that the time was approaching for the elders to leave.  _I haven't seen him all week.  Now, I won't get to see him for who knows how much longer._

Robin did his best to control the quiver in his lip as Batman spoke softly, "I know this isn't how you were planning on spending your weekend, Robin, but I have every confidence you will succeed in your mission."

Robin just stared, breathing deeply.  Nightwing placed a hand on Robin's shoulder gently and said, "Use your words, Robin.  Don't keep it inside, we talked about that.  What is it?"

Robin looked at the floor and spoke softly, almost too softly to be heard, "Th-three years ago, Nightwing and I w-watched you leave on another 'save the world' mission.  You didn't come home from that mission, Father.  Now, now you're leaving again, and this time, y-you're taking Nightwing w-with you.  I don't know if I can do this."

"Robin, your mission is very straightforward..."

"Not the mission," Robin interrupted, bringing his head up to try to meet Batman's eyes, "I don't know if I can watch you leave again."

Nightwing gasped at the quiet admission as Robin continued.  "You promised, Father," he hissed vehemently, "you _promised_ I wouldn't be alone again."

"You won't be," Batman replied, just as vehemently, "not for long.  Brainiac can't possibly bring a large enough force to take on the entire planet."

Robin took a half step closer to Batman and said in the strongest voice he could manage, which sounded awfully watery and sad to Nightwing, "You _will_ come home this time.  I'm not giving you any other option.  You have to come home because you have to bring Nightwing home.  Neither of you are allowed to die.  I do want to be Batman, but I don't want to be Batman anytime soon.  I'm still learning how to be Robin, I can't just stop that and start learning how to be Batman, especially if I won't have a teacher to guide me."

"Batman, Nightwing, we need to get going," Superman's voice broke into the family moment from across the room.

Batman looked at his sons before saying loudly, "We've come across a logistical issue.  We need a couple minutes to solve it.  Come Robin, Nightwing."

Batman led his sons towards a hallway as Superman asked, "Anything you need help with?"

"It's under control," Batman growled as they disappeared down the hall.

Superman knew exactly what was going on; he had been eavesdropping on the Bats for the better part of the last two minutes.

Batman stalked down the hall, with Robin almost jogging to keep up.  Suddenly, Batman stopped and dropped to a knee in front of his son.  Robin couldn't stop in time, and ended up running into Batman.  That was what Batman intended to happen, and he held tightly to his son for just short of a minute.  It took Robin several seconds to realize what Batman was doing, but he melted against the body armor when he did.

"I will come back, and I will bring Nightwing.  You can't get rid of us that easily," Batman whispered into Robin's ear.

"I will accomplish my mission, Father, for you, so you can accomplish yours with one less worry."

Nodding, Batman stood, hating that he had to let go of his son.  Nightwing filled Batman's space and hugged Robin tightly, whispering, "I'm still jealous of you, little brother.  You are still the only one who gets Bat-hugs."

Robin smirked softly, "Bring him back alive, Nightwing.  That is your only mission out there."

Nightwing sounded almost hurt when he said, "Bring _him_ back alive?"

"Yes."

"You're only worried about Batman coming back alive?"

"Yes." Robin knew the answer hurt his brother, but he continued his explanation.  "You see, for you to accomplish your mission, you have to bring him back alive.  The only way to ensure that happens is to bring him back in person.  No false heroics.  Just do your job and come home."

A smile broke out on Nightwing's face as Robin spoke to both of his elders.  "For as much as I am Robin now, and we work well together, you and Nightwing are untouchable as a partnership.  Go out there and show Brainiac what an utter fool he is to have picked a fight with the original Dynamic Duo."

Batman let a small smirk show under his cowl, "We will, son.  You'll be seeing us before you know it."

The trio walked back towards the entrance hall, Batman and Nightwing each keeping a hand firmly on Robin's shoulders as he walked between the two men.  Robin stopped just before he figured they would be visible at the end of the hall and turned to Batman, asking, "One more, Father?"

Batman instantly dropped to a knee and enfolded Robin in his tight grasp.  Robin's arms wrapped tightly around Batman's neck, and the older man could have sworn he heard a sniffle from his son.  A gauntleted hand cupped the back of Robin's head.  The boy took a deep breath, hoping this wouldn't be the last time his father held him.  Reluctantly, he took a step back, and nodded at Batman.

"Were you able to fix your logistical problem," Superman asked as the Bats entered the room from the hallway. 

The smile on Superman's face irked Batman.  _He knows exactly what was going on,_ Batman thought, _why does he have to act like he's clueless at times like this?_   "For now.  Let's just get this over with."

Robin hung back by the computer as Flash and Superman said their final goodbyes to their children.  The kids migrated over to stand next to Robin as Nightwing whispered to Flash, "He's not taking this as well as I had hoped."

"Babysitting," Flash asked in a whisper of his own.

"No, the other part...aaaaand, he just heard us," Nightwing said, catching the look on Robin's face.

Before stepping into the Zeta Tube, Superman turned back to see a sea of sad faces watching the adults leave.  "Kids, just relax.  This will be over before you know it.  We'll handle everything.  Listen to Robin, he's in charge, he'll take good care of you.  Robin, you know what we're trusting you with right now.  I know you won't let us down.  Thank you."

With a flash of Zeta light, four heroes-in-training were left alone, while their families went off to war.

 

**A/N: As you should be able to tell by now, this will be another multi-chapter story.  This is currently at 12 chapters, and is completely done at this point.  As I go back and edit this, there might be a few changes added, but I don't think any of the changes will result in new chapters.  I'm going to try to stick with the 12 that are already written.**

**Just so it is a little better understood, the outline for this story was written at the same time DC began the whole Rebirth cycle.  This was completed before most of the new storylines were fleshed out.  I've been sitting on this completed story for the better part of six months, until I get to this point in my timeline.  As I've said before, I'm only following a couple of the Rebirth stories, so I really don't know if I'm writing out of turn.  Then again, I have also always said that I'm writing in my own universe, so DC rules don't apply.**

**Now that some of the characters have been introduced, I can let you all in on what I'm thinking with them.  Robin, of course, is the same 13 year old Damian I've been writing for a while.  Superboy is the 10 year old Jonathan Kent from the Superman and Super Sons books.  Impulse is an 11, almost 12, year old Irey West.  Mercury is, of course, her twin Jai West.  I don't know if Wally's kids made it into the Rebirth cycle, but I'm using them anyway.  I'm also aware that Jai supposedly has, or had, no powers.  For the sake of my story, I am writing him and Irey as normal speedsters.  And yes, the Mercury name is something I made up, because I didn't have anything else to call him for a secret identity, and it fits a speedster.**

**This story will focus on the experience of the kids in the upcoming conflict.  I haven't decided yet if I'm going to write the war from the Justice League perspective.  Maybe?  We'll see how this story is received, and if there is any _demand_ (hint, hint) for it (in comments).**

**Thanks for playing along.**


	2. Chapter 2

Invasion

Chapter 2

 

Several thousand feet above Mount Justice, the four heroes materialized in the transport room of the Watchtower.  Batman grabbed a handful of Superman's uniform and growled, "Was that necessary?"

"Was what necessary," Superman asked, confused.

Batman hissed quietly, "He's already having a hard enough time with this assignment.  Did you have to throw that extra pressure on him?"

Superman looked confused, "He can handle our kids, and he's there, safe.  What's the problem?"

"The problem is that he's there, safe, and we aren't.  He...still holds a lot of things inside."

Superman's eyes widened, "Darkseid?"

Batman hesitated for a second, not liking that Superman could read his son so well, before confirming, "Darkseid.  He's already having flashbacks, and you basically told him to suck it up, while doing the one thing that will make his flashbacks worse."

"Wait, what's making it worse," Superman asked.

Nightwing spoke up, "The last time Batman left him to go on a mission like this, he still had me with him at home.  This time, he doesn't.  No matter how much he doesn't want to, Robin is thinking he is about to lose his father and brother."

Superman turned back to Batman and asked, "How bad are we talking here, Batman?"

Batman answered reluctantly, suddenly wishing he hadn't brought up the subject, "He asked for a hug."

Superman's and Flash's jaws dropped as Batman continued, "He doesn't ask for hugs out of uniform, but he asked today, in uniform."

"But, you and Nightwing hug him all the time," Flash pointed out.

"But he doesn't _ask_ for it, at least, not from us," Nightwing said.  "He might ask Robin, but for as little as they see each other, I doubt he has to actually ask.  He will accept it from us, and occasionally initiate, but he doesn't _ask_ for it."

"Never," Superman asked incredulously.

Batman opened his mouth to answer, but couldn't.  Nightwing answered for him, softly, "Only once, the day we found out what that human trafficking rapist bastard Amin Taun did to him."

Superman winced as he recognized the name of the human trafficking rapist scum.  He remembered how haunted Robin looked when the man's deeds had been revealed.  He couldn't respond as Batman walked out of the room, saying over his shoulder, "Let's get this over with.  I have a son to return to."

_Meanwhile..._

The youths stared at the empty Zeta Tube, all four secretly hoping that this crisis was just a joke, or a training exercise.

Finally, Mercury sighed and turned to Impulse.  "Well, that sucked."

"Dad said it would only be for a short time," the girl responded.

They both stopped as Superboy walked up to Robin and stuck his hand out.  Robin was still staring at the Zeta Tube, and didn't notice the boy until he cleared his throat and said, "Hi.  My name is..."

"Superboy.  I know," Robin interrupted.

"Yeah, but my _name_ is..."

"Your _name_ is Superboy," Robin said, finally looking at the younger boy, "Just like her name is Impulse, his name is Mercury, and my name is Robin.  We're in uniform, so those are the only names we have right now."

Superboy dropped his hand back to his side and said, "Okay.  We're going to be together for a while, though.  Don't you want to know our real names?"

Robin shrugged, "I already know your real names, so there is no reason for these extended introductions."

Superboy looked stunned, "Well, that's not fair."

"You might not realize this," Robin said in a tone meant to forestall further argument, "but this is a mission.  I know it seems like a sleepover or a camping trip to you, but it's not.  You all have uniforms, so your mentors must have told you the importance of keeping certain information secret.  Identity should be foremost in that."

Awkward silence reigned for half a minute before Mercury asked, "Well, what do we do now?"

"Settle in, I guess."  Robin shrugged, "Have any of you been here before?"

Three heads shook no at the question.  Robin rolled his eyes, "Stupid question.  Batman told me that no one's used this base in years.  Of course, none of us have been here.  Did any of you look over maps of the installation before coming here?"

Again, three negative answers.  Robin's jaw dropped, "You mean to tell me that I'm the only one who knows the layout of the base?"

Superboy looked at Robin strangely.  "Wait, why would you study maps of a base that no one has used in years?"

Robin looked at the boy like the answer to his question should have been obvious.  "For situations like this, of course.  There is no such thing as being too prepared.  Okay, so I have to play tour guide along with babysitter.  Tell me, were any of you given clearances?"

All three youths looked confused.  Impulse asked, "What kind of clearances?"

"Security clearance."

"How would we know if we had that," Mercury asked.

Robin tried to maintain an adequate level of patience.  "You all arrived through the Zeta Tube.  When you got here, were any of you announced by the computer, or was it just Superman and Flash?"

"I just heard Superman," Superboy said.

"Just Flash," Mercury said, shaking his head.

Impulse asked in a half-jealous, half impressed tone, "Were _you_ given security clearance?"

Robin nodded, "It'll probably be taken away when this mission is over."

"That must be why you're in charge, then," Superboy said.

"What now?" Impulse asked.

Robin looked at the digital clock over the main screen and thought _they are all younger than me, I wonder if they have bed times, like Father keeps trying to impose on me?_   "I can show you some areas you will need to know about, then we can find our quarters for the night.  Tomorrow, we can continue the tour.  Maybe we will get lucky, and this whole crisis will be over early."

Impulse and Mercury looked at each other, both concerned that their caretaker for the weekend might be turning into a drill instructor.  Superboy just smiled and said, "Cool.  Where do we start?"

Robin looked around and said, "Here, I guess.  This is the main communications and control center for Mount Justice.  Everything can be controlled by voice command, but the computer won't respond unless you have a security clearance.  If it is absolutely necessary that you contact someone, I guess I can unlock the system for you."

"Why can't you just leave it unlocked," Mercury asked.

"The locks reset after each use.  You would have to reprogram the entire Mountain computer system to get it to stay unlocked."

Mercury continued, "But, what if we just want to watch TV, or go on the internet?"

Robin met the youth's eyes, "There is a Rec Room downstairs.  You shouldn't need clearances for those computers...but there _are_ keystroke loggers and session recorders on all Mount Justice computers, so don't be looking up anything you don't want the whole Justice League knowing you looked at.  Let's go."

The future heroes trooped after Robin, still uncertain about their secretive caretaker, but willing to trust the judgement of their respective parents, and give him a chance.  If Superman and Flash both said that Robin would be a good leader for the weekend, then the kids could withhold judgement.

Robin stopped at a metal door and said, "This is the main personnel elevator.  There is a freight elevator at the end of the hall, but you shouldn't need to use that.  There are nine levels to Mount Justice.  Top two are environmental controls.  Next two are storage.  This level is the main command and control level.  Next one down is living quarters, including the kitchen and Rec Room.  Below that is the training level.  Below that is water and sewage controls.  Finally, electrical controls are on the bottom level.  Environmental controls, water and sewage, and electrical systems are all computer controlled and fully automated.  The elevator won't even go to the top two or bottom two floors without a higher security clearance than I was given.  In case of emergency, there are several staircases located around the Mountain."

Robin opened the door next to the elevator to reveal a staircase, then turned and looked at the children for a long time, thinking.  Just when they were starting to fidget under Robin's gaze, the Boy Wonder spoke.  "I need all of you to do something for me, and please, just do it.  Don't ask questions, and don't hesitate.  Hopefully it won't come to this, but there may come a time of emergency.  I'm not saying that it _will_ happen, but with what's going on this weekend, we need to be prepared.  If anything happens..."

"We'll stand and fight," Superboy interrupted eagerly.

"You'll _run,"_ Robin countered firmly.

"What?"

"My mission is to keep all of you safe.  In order to do that, I need you all to listen to me, and trust that I can read and interpret a dangerous situation.  If I say run, you find the nearest staircase and go to the lowest level.  There is a secret room down there that isn't on any map.  I'll show you where it is tomorrow.  You'll be safe there.  If there is a situation, and something happens to me where I can't tell you to run, you run even faster.  We'll set up a code word for 'danger' and a code word for 'all clear' tomorrow, as well...I'll explain that then, too.  Agreed?"

Impulse nodded.  Superboy looked scared, but an agreement was given from the half-Kryptonian.  Mercury looked at Robin and said, "All three of us can move faster than you can.  Do you want one of us to carry you, if we have to run?"

Robin stared at the boy hard, "No, I want you to do what I asked, and get yourselves to safety.  Believe me, I can take care of myself."

"We aren't going to just leave you," Mercury said.

_Why does it feel good that he said that?_   "Yes, you _will_ , Mercury.  I appreciate what you are trying to do, but if it gets to the point where I tell you to run, it is because your lives are in immediate danger.  Now, stop arguing and agree that you will run if I tell you to run.  It's getting late, and we still haven't found where we're sleeping tonight."

The elevator deposited the children on the Habitation Level after Mercury reluctantly agreed to run when told.  Robin walked into the hall, saying, "These are the living quarters.  This entire section of the hall is filled with identical rooms.  We can choose..."

Robin trailed off as he caught sight of a name plate on the first door on the left.  It bore his name.  Looking directly across the hall, he found a room denoted for Superboy's use.  The next two were labeled for Impulse, next to Robin, and Mercury, next to Superboy.

"Well, I guess we don't have to choose rooms after all."

"Who is Beast Boy," Mercury asked, staring at the nameplate on the door next to his own.

Robin cocked his head to the side in confusion as he walked over to stand next to the younger boy.  "Superman said I would have four roommates.  I thought he was talking about the four of us."

Mercury gave the older boy a sidelong glance and asked, "Do you know _his_ real name, too?"

"Of course.  What, you didn't meet him before this started?  Flash didn't invite Beast Boy over for a little playdate, like he did with Superboy?"

"How did you know about that," Mercury asked, his jaw dropping.

"I have ears, Mercury," Robin said with exasperation in his tone, "I could hear the three of you talking earlier."

"Oh."  Mercury stared at the ground, thinking to himself.  _Does he sound like he's feeling left out?  Dad said he didn't do things like go out and play, and that's why he didn't come over.  Maybe...Dad said he grew up differently than we did.  Maybe I_ didn't _hear him wrong when he said he doesn't know how to play?  I wonder if he's ever done something like a playdate._

Shaking his head, Robin said, "Come with me.  There are still two more rooms you need to see tonight.  Then, we can get some sleep."

They took a right at the end of the hall and followed Robin into a modern-looking, if industrial, kitchen.  "This is the kitchen.  If someone took the time to choose quarters for us, then I can also assume that the pantries and refrigerator are stocked with enough food to get us through the weekend."

Superboy opened the refrigerator with a smile, "Yep, plenty of food in here."

"If I remember right, the first storage level has a refrigerated section.  There is probably more food there, just in case.  I'll check later."  Robin walked through the kitchen and opened a door on the other side.  "There is a dining room through here.  Next door is the Rec Room."

Mercury and Superboy both smiled as they looked at each other.  "Race you," they both said at the same time, before disappearing from the kitchen in a gust of wind.

"Boys," Impulse said, shaking her head.  Robin rolled his eyes and followed the girl out of the kitchen at a less super pace.

Just inside the door to the Rec Room, Mercury and Superboy stood with their jaws hanging and their eyes bugging out.

"That's the biggest TV I've ever seen," Superboy whispered, astonished.

"Look at that couch," Mercury gasped, "I could live in here."

"Do you remember how to get back to your rooms," Robin asked, leaning against the door frame.

Mercury said, "Down the hall, take a left, head towards the elevator.  Why?"

"Make sure you get some sleep, it's almost midnight."  Robin left the youths in the room and called over his shoulder as he walked away, "Breakfast is at seven-thirty."

"Why so early," Superboy called out.  "Tomorrow's Saturday.  Why can't we sleep in?"

"You can sleep as long as you want.  If you want to eat breakfast without having to cook it yourself, then you'll be at the table at seven-thirty."  Robin's voice drifted back to the children, and Impulse could swear there was a smile in the tone.

Robin opened the door to his small, assigned quarters and entered slowly.  They were spartan accommodations at best, but it had everything Robin needed.  Still, for as utilitarian as they were, and given the fact that no one had used the room in years, it felt familiar to Robin.  _I wonder if this used to be Batman's room,_ he thought.

A closer look at the room revealed a folded sheet of paper on his pillow.  Robin picked it up and read the vaguely familiar handwriting.

_Robin_

_I've set everything up to the specifications that Superman requested, so if something isn't to your liking, it's his fault, not mine.  He was thinking of you when he gave me the instructions for the Mountain, and I've changed a few things I knew you wouldn't like.  Hopefully, this will make your job a little easier._

_Do everyone a favor, and don't go all 'Batman' with this mission.  You may be sleeping in his room, but you don't have to act like him.  They're good kids.  Who knows, you might actually make some friends close to your own age when all is said and done._

_I know Batman predicts this to be a long weekend, so I packed you a spare uniform, some pajamas, and some civilian clothes.  Batman won't be all that upset if you relax a bit while you're here.  That means that you don't have to be in uniform the whole time, but that will be up to you.  I also put your Kindle in the nightstand, in case you need something to do.  Hopefully, this will all be over soon._

The note wasn't signed, but Robin had a short list of suspects.

_That isn't Father's handwriting.  It isn't Grayson's, either.  The tone is too informal for Pennyworth.  I don't think Todd even knows how to write.  Drake is the only one who would think of packing my Kindle.  If Drake stocked the facility, then I can assume everything we would possibly need is here.  He is nothing if not practical._

Robin put the note down and went to the small closet.  He looked critically at the selections, finding everything to his liking.  _Except the boots,_ Robin thought.  He picked up the second pair of uniform boots and winced.  _These are the ones I told Pennyworth to get rid of, because they're too tight.  Great, now I need to pay more attention to foot care this weekend.  Well, I have these boots...and my favorite pair of sneakers.  How did I not notice that those were missing from my closet?_

Deciding that the answer wasn't important at this time, Robin took off his cape and hung it on a spare hanger.  He was pulling off his tunic when the door opened and closed behind him.  He continued to hang up the shirt as he said, without turning around, "You're feeling awfully brave tonight, Impulse."

"How did you know it was me," the girl said in wonder, her jaw dropping.

Robin walked to the bed, sat down, and started to unlace his boots.  "You've been looking at me like you wanted to say something all night.  Get it over with, so I can get some rest."

Impulse crossed her arms over her chest and said, "You don't have to be rude about it."

Robin looked up and smirked, "Who walked into whose room without knocking?  What do you want?"

Impulse took a deep breath, "I know who you really are.  So does my brother.  Uncle Nightwing told us."

Robin sighed, "The fact that you are calling him 'Uncle Nightwing' tells me that you, at least, have some understanding of the importance of a secret identity.  Why are you telling me something I already know?"

Impulse's eyes widened, "You know that we know?"

"Yes."

"Oh.  Well, why won't you tell Superboy who you are?  You can trust him, you know.  You're hurting his feelings by keeping him in the dark."

"I'm not exactly concerned about his feelings," Robin said, "or yours, for that matter."

Impulse smiled at the older boy and said, "I don't believe you.  Not after what Uncle Nightwing told us about you."

"Which was," Robin asked, intrigued by the conversation, despite his feigned indifference.

Impulse shrugged, "His words were, 'he's basically a good kid who could use some friends'.  You know, if you stopped trying to act like Batman all the time, and relaxed a little, you have a good chance of leaving here with three new friends."

Robin thought for a second before saying, "First of all, I _don't_ know that I can trust him, or you, or your brother.  Second, I'm not acting like Batman.  Batman never would have let this conversation happen.  You would have opened the door, then woken up in your bed tomorrow morning, with no memory of anything happening in between."

"You don't trust us," Impulse asked in a small voice.

Robin shrugged, "I don't know you.  Just to forestall your next comment, tell me who was present when Nightwing told you my name."

Impulse looked confused, but said, "Well, mom and dad, and me and my brother."

Robin nodded, "Who wasn't there?"

"I don't get it."

Robin repeated, "Who was not in the room the day Nightwing told you my name?"

"There was only the five of us, so however many people live on Earth, minus five."

Robin tried to meet the girl's eyes without lifting the lenses of his mask.  "Me.  I wasn't there that day.  I wasn't even invited.  I had to learn after the fact that my identity had been revealed to strangers."

Impulse sounded confused, "I don't see why this is a problem.  Nightwing trusts dad, and he trusts us.  He wouldn't have told us otherwise."

Robin leaned forward, "Don't you get it?  It's _my_ identity.  Mine.  I should be the only one who gets to decide when, where, and if it gets revealed.  That option was taken from me, and you better believe that Batman was furious when Nightwing told him what he did."

Robin was quiet for a second before taking a deep breath.  "The rule is, you take the identity of your clothes.  If I'm dressed as Robin, then I'm Robin.  If I'm dressed as my other self, then that's who I am."

"Okay, Damian," Impulse said with a smirk.

"Why would you say that name, after what I just told you," Robin snapped at the girl, making her flinch.

"You're wearing a tank top and pants.  You're hardly projecting Robin right now."

Robin looked down at himself and said, "These are my Robin pants, and I'm still wearing my mask."

"Which means what," Impulse asked.

"Which means, I'm still Robin.  I could be walking around naked, but if I still have my mask on, I'm still Robin."

"When does the mask come off," Impulse asked quietly.

"When the job is done," Robin answered, just as quietly.

They stared at each other for just short of a minute before Impulse said, "Is that all we are to you?  A job?"

Robin glanced down for a second, "For now."

"We're not here to fight you, Robin..."

Robin interrupted with a smile, "Good, because you wouldn't win.  You should go get some sleep.  Oh, and make sure your brother knows to keep what he knows to himself."

Impulse sighed, "I'll tell him, but I'll also tell you, we're here when you want to try that 'friends' thing."

Impulse headed for the door, but stopped and turned back with a smirk.  "You should also let us know if you are planning on walking around in just your mask, like you said before.  I'm pretty sure Jon and Jai don't want to see that."

"Didn't we _just_ talk about not using names while in uniform?"  Impulse shrugged as Robin continued, a smirk drawing itself across his face.  "They don't want to see it?"

"No," Impulse said as she shook her head.

"Excuse me for saying so, but with the way you are talking, it sounds like you might want to see it."

Impulse's blush matched her hair color, and she stammered for a second before finally opening the door and saying, "Get over yourself, Bird Boy."

The speedster left, and Robin did something he never did in costume, and rarely did out of uniform.  Robin laughed lightly.  _Maybe I can follow Nightwing's advice and relax a bit.  They don't seem so bad, and Nightwing is a fairly decent judge of character.  If he trusts them, I can give them a chance._

Robin turned off the light and quickly fell asleep.

 

**A/N: Another chapter down.  This one is a bit short, but then again, I said everything I wanted to for this part of the story.  As I hinted, Beast Boy will be added to the group later.  My Beast Boy is closer to the Young Justice Beast Boy than the current comic Beast Boy.  I'll explain him more once I introduce the character in the story.**

**Thanks for playing along.**


	3. Chapter 3

Invasion

Chapter 3

 

Superboy yawned and stretched as he sat up in his bed.  Despite the unfamiliar room, he had a smile on his face.  He had dreamed that he and his father were flying through the clouds.  No words had passed between father and son, they had just soared through the atmosphere.  Jon remembered Superman giving him such a proud smile, that he was left with a warm feeling long after he had left his bed.

Jonathan Kent padded down the hall, taking a wrong turn before turning around and heading in the right direction to get back to the kitchen.  As he walked, he wished that he had more of his father's invulnerability to temperature.  Heat had never bothered the Boy of Steel, but the stone floor was annoyingly cold against his bare feet.

Whatever Superboy was expecting to see when he walked into the kitchen, it wasn't what was presented before him.  On the counter, in front of three barstools, sat three identical meals, ready for eating.  Robin stood behind the counter, leaning against the pantry door, sipping at a cup of coffee.

"Hi," Jon said distractedly, still staring at the meals.

"Good morning," was replied evenly.  "If you want that heated up, let me know.  It's been sitting for a while."

Superboy sat down at the nearest place setting and took a bite of the meal.  "It's a little cold, but I guess it's okay like this."

Unseen, Robin rolled his eyes under his mask and grabbed the plate from in front of the younger boy.  Jon looked up nervously as Robin put the plate in the microwave to reheat it.  Returning the now-steaming food to the youth, Robin caught the apprehensive look and said softly, "You don't have to eat cold food, Superboy."

"Oh.  Uh...thanks.  Wow.  Eggs, bacon, hash browns, and toast.  I think you covered everything."

"Did you want anything to drink," Robin asked.

"Do we have any orange juice?"

Robin poured the boy a glass as Mercury and Impulse walked into the kitchen, rubbing sleep out of their eyes.

"What's all this," Impulse asked as Robin took the two remaining plates and reheated the meals.

Returning them to their intended diners, Robin said, "Most people call this breakfast."

"What do _you_ call it," Mercury asked slyly.

Robin gave him a blank look, which was just barely noticeable past his mask.  "...Breakfast.  Unless you prefer to call it desayuno, or le petit dejeuner, or fruhstuck, or colazione, or frokost, or kifungua kinywa.  Whatever you call it, just eat it."

"Listen to him, Merc," Superboy said, "It's awesome.  This might be better than mom's cooking."

Impulse and Mercury both took a bite of their breakfasts, then looked at each other with wide eyes.  Impulse smiled and said, "Robin, I think you just volunteered to handle the cooking duties while we're here."

Robin smiled slightly behind his coffee cup.  "I'm okay with that, but I would like some help with the other chores."

Jon whined, "Aww, chores?"

"I think it's only fair that we pull our own weight.  For example, if I'm going to do all of the cooking, it would be nice if someone volunteered to do the dishes."

"I guess I can do that," Impulse said, when no one else looked like they were going to step forward.

Robin nodded, "Thank you, Impulse.  We aren't going to be here long enough to really mess this place up, so the rest is very simple.  You make a mess, you clean it up.  I'm not here to clean up after anyone but myself.  Look at it as a test of personal responsibility.  There is no reason we can't leave this place as clean as we found it.  That includes your bedrooms.  For safety, you at least want a clear path from the door to the bed.  Remember, these used to be our parent's rooms.  I'm sure you wouldn't go and make a mess in your parent's bedrooms at home."

Impulse and Superboy nodded, but Mercury said, "Why are you staring at _me_?"

"Because you've been here a grand total of less than ten hours, and your room is already a mess."

Mercury sighed as his dirty laundry, literally, was aired in front of everyone.  "Fine, I'll clean it after breakfast...hey, wait.  How do you know my room is messy?"

Robin rolled his eyes, thinking he would be doing a lot of that this weekend.  "I was assigned to look out for you.  Did you really think I wouldn't check on all of you in the night, to make sure you were sleeping alright?  My mission doesn't end at bedtime; it ends when your parents come and take you home."

"I locked my door last night," Mercury said slowly, "How did you get in?"

Robin gave a full smirk to the boy and said, "I have had more and varied training than you even know exists.  How to pick a lock is something Batman teaches in week one of Robin training."  Robin didn't feel it was necessary to mention that he learned to pick locks years before he ever heard of Batman.  It was quiet for a minute before Robin said, "Finish your breakfasts and clean up the kitchen.  We can finish our tour of the mountain after that."

"Aren't you going to eat," Superboy asked around a slice of toast.

"No," Robin said, draining the last of his coffee.

"Why not," Impulse asked.

Robin smiled faintly, "If you remember last night, I told you that breakfast would be ready at seven-thirty.  Superboy was the first of all of you to show up, at eight-fifteen.  Breakfast was ready at seven-thirty.  _I_ ate when it was ready."

Half an hour later, Impulse found Robin sitting at the communications console, trying to access a Watchtower feed.

"Hi," she said nervously.

"Impulse," he acknowledged her presence.

She pulled up a chair and said softly, "Look, I didn't want to say anything in front of the boys, but you didn't sleep last night, did you?  You look tired.  Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"No," Robin sighed, "There's nothing either of us can do, because we're stuck in this damn mountain."

Impulse looked critically at Robin, who still hadn't looked over at the girl, "What's happening out there?  Dad wouldn't tell us."

Robin thought about his options in this situation before saying, "No.  He didn't tell you for a reason.  I don't know what that reason was, but unless anything changes, we will all be home by Tuesday at the latest.  I don't want to scare you unnecessarily."

Impulse stared at Robin and said sarcastically, "Yeah, because telling me _that_ wasn't scary at all."

"Look, if everything works out how it's supposed to, then it won't matter what's going on out there."

"...But?"

Robin looked at his lap, "But, an alien invasion force was predicted to arrive at Earth around three this morning.  It's possible that the planet is at war right now, and our families are on the front lines."

Robin winced, realizing too late that he had said too much.  Impulse gasped at the statement, "Why didn't anyone tell us yesterday?"

"Because then you would have gotten as much rest as I did last night.  I want to call for an update, but I don't want to interrupt anything important."

"Don't worry, Robin," Impulse said, patting his shoulder, "It's the Justice League out there."

Robin sighed, "I know, and I trust them to do their job, but I can't help feeling like I'm not doing enough to help out.  I'm not built for this kind of mission.  I should be out there, fighting."

Impulse was starting to realize just how important the mission given to Robin was.  "You're doing plenty, Robin.  You are taking care of us when our parents can't.  You are freeing up the Justice League to take care of whatever this threat is, instead of being distracted by us."

Robin thought for a minute before patting the hand that still rested on his shoulder.  "Aren't I supposed to be the one looking out for the three of you?"

Impulse smiled, "That doesn't mean we can't try to help you out.  If you're not at your best, then you can't complete your mission as well as you could if you were feeling better.  Since your mission is to look out for me, and the boys, then it is in our best interest to help you out, so you can accomplish your goals."

Robin smiled in spite of himself as Impulse continued, "Listen, don't mention any of this around the boys."

"I wasn't planning to, unless it becomes absolutely necessary," Robin said.

Impulse nodded, "Jai, and especially Jon, won't understand."

Robin tried to meet the girl's eyes as he sighed, "Why do I have to keep reminding you about identities while in uniform?"

"If you hadn't noticed, _you_ are the only one of us still in uniform."

Robin hadn't noticed, "Does this mean you want me to call you Iris?"

"I prefer Irey," she said with a smile, "What should I call you?"

Robin shrugged, "What I told you last night.  As long as the mask is on, you call me Robin."

Irey rolled her eyes, "You're going to make this weekend as difficult as possible, aren't you?"

Robin smiled and said, "I'm good at that."

_Later..._

"Hey.  So, you said you were going to show us some cool stuff today, right?" Jai asked as Robin and Irey walked back into the kitchen.

"Yes, I did say that.  The first thing should be of great interest to you, Jai."

The youth's eyes widened, "Oh, you actually _do_ know our names.  I thought you just said that to be arrogant."

"Wait, are we allowed to call each other by our real names now?" Jon asked, "Because, if we are, I still don't know your name."

Robin tried to remain calm at having to keep explaining Batman's rule.  "If the person you are addressing is out of uniform, as all of you seem to be, then you can call each other whatever you want.  If the person you are addressing is in uniform, as I am, you call them by the name associated with the uniform, and just so I don't have to explain this later," Robin pointed to his mask, "So long as I am wearing my mask, you still call me 'Robin'.  Understand?"

Reluctantly, Jon nodded, but still asked in a hurt tone, "Do you just not like us, or something?"

"I don't know you, Jonathan.  You have to get to know someone before you can trust them.  For example, there really is no reason you should trust me at this point."

Honesty shone in Jon's eyes as he said, "Dad told me I could trust you.  He said that he trusts you, and if you've earned Superman's trust, that is good enough for me."

That was enough to render Robin speechless.  He truly didn't know how to respond to such an openly honest statement, especially one that made him feel as warm as that one did.

Jai cleared his throat as the silence drew out, "So, what were you going to show us?"

Returning to his present surroundings, Robin said, "Yes, come with me."

The youths followed Robin out of the kitchen and down towards the elevator.  "The first thing I want to show you is this."

Robin stopped and flung the door to Jai's room open.  It seemed like everything that had been transported to the mountain for the boy's use had been thrown on the floor.  Jai blushed and said, "I haven't had a chance to pick it up yet."

Robin gave a blank look and deadpanned, "You've had an hour.  I understand that it isn't the most enjoyable task, but you are a speedster.  This should take you less than a minute to pick up."

Irey shook her head, "Robin, you're wading into a battle that Mom has been waging for the past eleven years."

Jon chuckled nervously, but Jai got angry at being singled out.  "Do you have a problem with me, Robin?"

The tone of voice had the effect of turning on the more 'vigilante' aspects of the Boy Wonder's personality without him even realizing it.  "I have a problem with the fact that you said you would clean this up after breakfast, and it still isn't done, despite having plenty of time to do it.  If you can't keep a simple promise like keeping your room clean, what can I expect from you in a real emergency?"

"What emergency?  We are just stuck here because Dad was overreacting to his mission."

Robin looked astonished, "You really don't get it, do you?  I'm trying to protect you here."

"...And a messy room is going to cause you to not be able to do that?"

Robin began to glare at the speedster.  "It might.  Remember what I said last night?  If something happens and I tell you to run, you run?  What if this place is invaded at night, and you're asleep when I tell you to run?  You'll have to step over and around all this stuff, slowing you down and increasing the likelihood of you being captured.  Or, you trip over something and hurt yourself, guaranteeing that you get captured.  What would happen then?"

Jai smirked evilly, "I guess you would fail your precious mission, then."

"You better pray that I don't fail.  It isn't just a mission, it is potentially your life."

"Stop trying to act like our parents, Robin," Jai snapped harshly, "You aren't."

Robin was fuming now, "Listen, West.  I'm not trying to act like your parents.  I'm trying to keep you alive long enough to return to them.  That means I'm going to do things how I think they should be done.  That includes getting on you about a messy room, just as much as it includes protecting you from whatever may come to attack you."

"I don't need your protection," Jai sneered, "You aren't the only one around here who knows how to fight.  In fact, I think _all of us_ here are better suited to protection than you are.  I, for one, want to see what our so-called protector can do."

Robin just stared, "Are you really proposing to fight me?"

Jai nodded once, "If you're man enough to accept."

Robin rolled his eyes at the younger boy.  "I won't hit you, Jai."

"No, you won't," Jai said with a cocky smile.

Trying to remember his mission, Robin said, "You don't want to do this."

"No, I really do."

"Don't push me, Jai."

"Why not?"

"Because you're pissing me off," Robin snapped.  "I'm not known for holding back when I'm angry."

Jai smiled, "I'm not scared of you."

Robin sighed, "Fine, you want to do this?  Let's do this.  Put your uniform on first, though.  I won't hit a kid, but a hero in training?  Yeah, I can take you down a couple pegs.  I'll be waiting for you in the training room, one floor down, but clean up your room first.  You might not be able to after."

The three youths timidly walked into the training room five minutes later.  Robin stood in the middle of the room, facing the door, his head bowed.  Without looking up, Robin called out, "Irey, did he clean it?"

"Yes, he did," she responded nervously.

"Jon, come here."

Visibly shaking, the super boy approached the Boy Wonder.  When he got as close as he was going to, Robin removed his utility belt and handed it to Jon, saying, "Hold this for me.  If I have my tools and weapons, I'll use them.  Just don't open any of the pouches."

"O-okay," he said, walking away to stand next to Irey again.

"Jai, don't do this," Irey begged her brother.

"Mercury, the choice is yours, but you should really listen to your sister," Robin said.

Jai answered by disappearing from sight.  A second later, Robin staggered to one side following an echoing smack.  A second later, he lurched in another direction following a second thud.  For half a minute, Robin bounced from side to side, impacts echoing around the room, until finally, Robin was sent sprawling to his stomach, and Mercury stopped, standing in the space where Robin had stood mere moments earlier.

"What's the matter, Robin?  Reflexes not as fast as your mouth?"

Robin stood easily, surprising Mercury.  _I hit him with everything I had, and he doesn't look like he did anything more than stumble over a crack in the sidewalk._

"Is that all you got," Robin asked lightly.  "If that's all, then it's a good thing you don't live in Gotham City, because you wouldn't survive one night on patrol there."

"Had enough," Mercury asked before disappearing again.

This time, there was a double smack and a high-pitched scream.  Robin was down again, but this time, he was laying on top of Mercury, pinning him to the ground, his arms pinioned behind his back and a knee digging into the back of one of Mercury's legs.

"My arms," the trapped boy cried out.

Robin leaned close and whispered, "There's a big difference between _can't_ hit you, and _won't_ hit you."

Mercury tried to get out of the hold.  Robin squeezed just a bit tighter, causing the younger boy to squeak in pain before saying, "Stop moving.  The hold I have you in is very precise, but if it has to get any tighter by your struggling, it will shatter your arms.  I don't want that, Mercury, and I don't think you do, either."

The speedster stilled, except for the small quake of fear running through him.  Robin continued, speaking softly, "I didn't have to let you hit me even once.  You understand that, right?"

"Y-yes."

"This has been a big waste of time and energy.  I'm not your enemy, Mercury.  When I tell you to do something, I'm not doing it to try to exercise some level of control over you.  I'm doing it to try to find a way to make the rest of this weekend easier for all of us.  It may seem like nagging, but it really is for your safety.  That's the only thing I'm worried about here.  I don't care if you go home hating me; I only care that you go home safely."

"I-is that t-true," Mercury asked quietly.

"I'm not known for lying."

"So, I should just get in line and stop acting...like I did earlier?"

Robin gave a very small smile, "Yes...and no.  I need you to trust that I might be doing things for a reason, even if I can't explain what the reason is at the time.  I also need you to keep me on my toes.  I need you to keep calling me out if I'm going overboard.  I don't know if you can tell, but I'm not a people person.  I need someone who can tell me when I'm out of line, and I'd like that to be you.  Can you do that for me?"

The room was quiet for a minute.  Even though Robin and Mercury had been whispering, their conversation carried across the room.  Finally, Mercury said, "Does this mean that you trust me?"

"I guess it does."

"Then I accept."

The smile grew on Robin's face.  Robin wouldn't be cognizant of this fact for several hours yet, but he had just started the process of making a new friend.  "Good. I'm going to release you now.  I have to do it slowly, otherwise it could damage your shoulders, and I really don't want to hurt you."

"Okay."

A minute later, they were both standing again, and Robin was checking on Mercury's condition as they left the training room.

Jon turned to Irey and asked, "Did we just watch them become friends?"

Irey answered with a smile, "Yes, I think we did."

She caught a less than happy look on Jon's face, even as he said, "Cool."

Irey patted Jon's shoulder and said, "Don't worry, Robin will come around.  You two will get to know each other before all this is over.  Just...don't go challenging him to a fight.  He might not hold back with you as much as he did with Jai."

"I don't want to fight him," Jon said, "That was too scary for me.  I just want to talk."

Irey shrugged, "It might take longer that way.  From what I know of him, Robin is a very private person."

 

**A/N: What would you expect to happen when two people who view themselves as Alpha males butt heads?  This isn't quite over yet, but it's close.  Just a warning, the next chapter has a bit of a different tone than the rest of the story.  That's because it was written after the story was done.  On my first editing pass, I realized that the story needed something as a bit of a transition, so another chapter was born.  A couple chapters were added this way.  Hopefully, they aren't too different in tone to be noticeable.**

**Thanks for playing along.**


	4. Chapter 4

Invasion

Chapter 4

 

"You don't have to follow me back to my room, Robin," Mercury said as they walked off of the elevator.

"I want to make sure you're really okay."

Mercury gave Robin a sidelong glance, "I think you really just want to check that I cleaned my room."

Robin smirked, surprising Mercury, "Well, yeah.  There's that, too."

Mercury winced as he reached out and opened the door to his room.  Robin saw the wince and cringed.  "I'm sorry," he said softly.

"What?" Mercury asked, shocked.

"You heard me.  I'm not in the habit of repeating myself."

The younger boy nodded, "I heard you.  I just didn't believe my ears.  Why would you apologize to me?"

Robin looked away, "Because I hurt you.  I tried not to.  It's a learning process.  Be glad this didn't happen a few years ago.  Hurting you wouldn't have bothered me then.  Then again, I also wouldn't have been put in charge of this place then."

"You didn't hurt me that bad, and I kind of deserved it."

Robin sighed, looking at the now-clean room.  "You didn't.  I should be able to let little things like that go."

They entered the room, and Mercury was surprised when Robin closed the door behind them.  "W-what are you going to do to me," Mercury asked softly, a hint of fear in his tone.

Robin met the youth's eyes, "Take your shirt off."

That wasn't what Mercury was expecting.  "What?"

Robin sighed again, "I need to check you for injuries.  Now, take your shirt off and turn around."

"It's just a little sore," Mercury said, wincing again as he unzipped his jumpsuit and shrugged it past his shoulders.  The youth's shoulders looked red and inflamed, and there were easily discernable hand print bruises on both of his upper arms.

"God damn it," Robin muttered.

"What," Mercury asked, fear crawling into his voice.

"I wasn't as careful as I thought I would be.  Shit."

Mercury shook his head, "I'm a quick healer, Robin.  Whatever it is should be gone soon."

Mercury was surprised to feel a bare hand gently pressing along his arms and shoulders.

Robin said, "That's going to leave bruises, and you're going to be sore for a while.  What the hell is wrong with me?"

Mercury flinched hard as he heard the sharp smack of Robin's hand slamming into the wall.  Turning, he saw Robin facing the wall, leaning his forehead against the vertical surface, his fist still pressing hard into the wall where he had hit it.  "Robin?"

"Twelve hours," the Boy Wonder said, his voice full of self-loathing.  "I couldn't go twelve hours without failing my mission.  I couldn't control my temper, and now you're hurt.  The only parameter of my orders was to keep you safe.  I can't even keep you safe from me."

Jai changed quickly into a t-shirt and jeans, making sure to hang up his uniform.  Robin was still leaning against the wall when he turned back.  It had only taken four seconds for the speedster to change clothes, Robin hadn't even noticed it happened.  Jai took a step forward, holding out a hand to touch Robin's shoulder.  Thinking better of it, Jai let his hand drop to his side, instead saying softly, "Damian."

Robin flinched, "Didn't your sister talk to you about names?  I asked her to."

"I won't do it again, and it's just the two of us in here.  Look, I'm already feeling better, and I don't think you failed your mission."

Robin snorted, "Batman won't think the same.  Neither will Flash, for that matter."

"It was my fault, Robin.  It could have been worse, you know."

Robin shook his head lightly, "Yeah, I could have broken your neck, or found some other, equally nasty, way to kill you."

"You wouldn't do that," Jai said confidently.

"I'd try not to do it," Robin corrected, "But that hasn't always worked in the past."

Jai paled at the turn in the conversation, "You mean...you've actually..."

"It's in the past," Robin interrupted, "But not so far in the past for me to be able to say that it won't ever happen again."

Jai swallowed roughly and said, "Well, it's over now.  See, it already doesn't hurt to lift my arms."

Robin turned to see Jai moving his limbs without so much as a wince.  Robin reached out and pushed up one of Jai's sleeves, to find that the bruises of his hand prints were completely gone.  He shook his head and muttered, "Damn speedsters.  You have no idea how many times I could have used healing abilities like that."

Walking towards the door, Robin stopped and sighed, his hand on the handle.  "Why did you challenge me?"

"I was jealous," Jai said softly."

"Jealous?"

"You're not that much older than the rest of us.  Why were you put in charge this weekend?"

Robin snorted in amusement, "I've been asking myself that since last night."

Jai smiled, "Well, I think I know now.  You took down a speedster easily.  What else are you capable of?"

Robin turned back and smirked.  "It's not _that_ impressive.  It's not like I took down Flash."

"Could you," Jai asked curiously.

Robin winked at the boy, but it wasn't seen on the other side of his mask, "Yes, but that's a different story."

"Wow."

Robin shook his head, "My orders were to keep you all safe this weekend.  I never thought I would end up being the threat.  I only know one way to do things.  It may not always be the right way, but it is the way that works for me.  Can we make a deal?  I really don't like what happened between us today.  It never should have happened.  So, work with me a little here, and I'll try to make this weekend...fun."

"Are you sure you can do that," Jai asked nervously, "...I overheard what you told Batman and Nightwing last night.  Do you really not know how to play?"

As soon as the words were out of Jai's mouth, he froze, thinking he had said too much.

"It's not how I was raised," Robin grumbled, his cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

Jai looked confused, even though he was glad that Robin didn't seem to take his curiosity as anything malicious, "But, Nightwing plays all the time.  Sometimes, I think he spends more time with me than with Dad, when he comes over."

A flare of jealousy erupted in the pit of Robin's stomach as a disquieting thought entered his mind.  _Grayson is always acting like a child.  He tells me to act more like a child every time I tell him to act like an adult.  Does he crave childish interaction so much that he has to borrow West's children to get it?  Is...is he giving up on me?  Am I...am I not enough for him?  Not good enough?  Am I not able to make him happy anymore?  At least, the way he wants to be happy?  No wonder he never tells me what goes on when he goes to visit West._

Jai seemed not to notice Robin's change in emotional state.  "You two are brothers, right?  I know he's older, but didn't he ever play with you when you were growing up?"

Robin sighed, not looking at Jai.  "No, he didn't.  I wasn't raised by Batman, and therefore wasn't around Nightwing as a child."

"Aren't you still a child?"  Robin didn't answer Jai's question.  The silence stretched out uncomfortably until Jai tried another attempt.  "Well, then..."

"I was raised by my mother," Robin interrupted harshly, "And that is all that ever needs to be said, and ever _will_ be said, about that subject.  Do we have a deal, or not?"

Jai was silent for a handful of seconds before saying, "Yeah, I'd like this weekend to be a lot more fun than this morning was.  We have a deal."

Robin nodded curtly, "Good.  Well, since you seem to be okay, and your room is clean, and I assume will stay clean, I guess that is all we need to worry about for now.  I need to go take care of something.  I'll see you at lunch."

Robin swept from the room, confusing Jai at the sudden departure.

_Yeah, I have to take care of something,_ Robin thought.  _I have to go and think about what I've been doing wrong at home.  I never considered having to share Grayson with anyone outside of the manor.  I don't know how to take this news.  Is it wrong that I don't want to share him?  That I want him all to myself?  Is it wrong of me to be that demanding of his time?  I mean, I've only known him for three years.  He's my brother, but he is also Jai and Irey's Godfather.  He was there when they were born, and I, I was never born.  Face it, Damian, Grayson had a life that was far fuller than I will ever know, long before I ever knew of his existence.  I should be happy that he has included me in his life at all.  I should be honored that he tries to spend as much time with me as he does.  He could be doing far more important things than chasing me down.  I am happy that he's my brother, and will always be there for me, like he said.  Then...why do I feel so...so sad, and empty...so alone...right now?_

Jai was alone in his room for all of two minutes before the door opened again, and Irey and Jon entered.  Irey looked her brother up and down before planting her hands on her hips, in a fair approximation of their mother, and asked, "Are you alright?"

Jai nodded as he sat back on his bed, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Good.  Then, would you mind telling me what you were thinking?"

"Okay, _Mom_ ," Jai shrugged at the glare she sent him.  "I don't know.  I felt like he was picking on me.  You know what that does to me."

Irey shook her head, "When are you going to learn to control your temper?  Dad tells you that all the time.  'Look at what's around you.  See what's actually happening, instead of what you think is happening'.  How many times has he told us that?"

"A lot," Jai said with a sigh.

Irey stared at her brother, "You know that Uncle Nightwing taught Dad that, when they were our age, right?"

"Yeah," he replied.

When nothing was said for another minute, Jon spoke up softly.  "What happened after you two left the training room?"

Jai shook his head, "It was weird.  He followed me in here."

"What did he do," Jon asked nervously.

"He wanted to check on me.  He said he wanted to make sure that he didn't hurt me."

Irey suddenly looked concerned for her brother, "Did he hurt you?"

"Well, yeah, but it was really my fault."

Irey rolled her eyes, "I won't argue with you on that.  Robin and I told you not to go through with trying to fight him."

Jai nodded, "Yeah, I should have listened.  I had some bruises, but they're gone now.  He got upset, though.  He said...he said he was put in charge here to protect us, but he couldn't protect us from himself."

Irey looked confused, "From himself?"

"That's what he said.  I get the feeling that there are a lot of secrets he knows, that he's trying to keep hidden."  Jai thought it prudent to hide the fact that Robin admitted to killing a man in the past.

Irey shrugged, "Uncle Nightwing has always said that Robin is a private person, and he's hard to get to know."

Jon looked at the siblings and asked, "Have you two met Robin before?"

Jai shook his head, "No.  Have you?"

"No.  It's just...you're talking like you know him."

"We don't," Irey assured the younger boy, "But I think Uncle Nightwing was angling to introduce us."

"Why do you say that," Jai asked.

Irey rolled her eyes, "You know that's how Dad and Uncle Nightwing met.  They had to be set up, but they became best friends.  I think Uncle Nightwing was going to try that with us and Robin."

"But, that didn't happen," Jai said, "And now, we're here."

Irey sighed, "Are you and Robin going to have any more problems?"

Jai laughed, "Don't want me hurting your boyfriend?"

Irey blushed as Jon giggled and said, "Boyfriend?  I thought you had never met?"

Jai spoke with a giggle as Irey started to blush, "She's had a crush on Robin since Uncle Nightwing and Dad started talking about him."

"Jai!"

He turned to his sister with a large smile, "What?  It's true.  You jumped when you found out he was going to be here this weekend."

Irey blushed a color that almost matched her hair.  "Okay, maybe.  But, don't you think this is a great opportunity to learn from someone our own age who is already out patrolling, and doing hero stuff?"

"Suuuure," Jai said slyly.  "Anyway, we talked, and there won't be more problems.  He even said he was going to try to make the rest of the weekend fun."

Jon smiled, "That sounds good to me.  I didn't like this morning at all; that was scary.  But, breakfast was good."

"Yes, it was," Jai agreed.

The three youths gasped in shock as the door was opened suddenly.  Robin stuck his head into the room, and seemed to be surprised that all of his charges were in the room.  "Oh.  Um...lunch is ready.  It's just sandwiches, I hope that's okay.  When you're done, please clean up after yourselves.  I...I have a headache.  I'm going to go lay down."

Robin quickly left the room, and the others followed him to the door and watched as he closed himself in his room.

"That was weird," Irey said.

"Yeah," Jon agreed.

"I'll say," Jai said.  "He didn't sound like that when we were talking earlier."

"Huh," Irey said, thinking.

"So, should we eat," Jai asked.

"Shouldn't we wait for Robin," Jon asked.

Irey looked at the closed door hiding the young hero and came to a decision.  "I don't think he's coming out of there.  Not for a while, at least.  We should check on the food, we might be on our own for dinner, too."

Jai's eyes widened, "You don't think it's anything I said, do you?"

"Did you say anything you shouldn't have?"

Jai shrugged, "I called him by his real name once, but he didn't act like that then.  I don't think I said anything else."

Jon looked down grumpily, "It's not fair that everyone knows who he is, except me.  He knows my name, why can't I know his?  I think he doesn't like me."  He looked saddened as he grumbled out his thoughts.

"He hasn't had a chance to get to know you yet," Irey tried to soothe the boy.  "Anyway, even if we know his name, I doubt that we actually know _him_."

"Then, why does it seem like he knows us," Jon asked desperately.

Jai laughed, "Dad said it is part of Batman and Robin's Superhero Contract.  They have to know everything.  They've been like that since Uncle Nightwing was the first Robin."

Jon still didn't look any happier, "How do you know he even wants a chance to get to know me?  What happens after this weekend is over?  I mean, it's not like we're going to just be friends all of a sudden.  We all live across the country, we can't just walk next door and play whenever we want."

"We have Zeta Tubes," Irey shrugged, "I'm sure we can work something out."

Jon looked up with wide eyes, "Dad says it isn't a toy, no matter how cool it is and how much fun it is to play with."

"So does our Dad," Irey and Jai said at the same time.

They made their way to the kitchen and gasped at the array of sandwiches on a platter on the counter.  Three empty glasses stood next to a stack of plates, with a note stating that there was lemonade in the refrigerator.  Jon and Jai dove at the platter hungrily while Irey retrieved the drinks.

In between bites, Jai said, "I don't know where Robin learned to cook, but we should thank his teachers."

Jon saw Irey reach for one of the plates and place a couple of sandwiches on it, before grabbing another one from the platter and taking a bite.  "Are you taking some to go?"

Irey shook her head, "Saving some for Robin, just in case.  The way you two eat, he might not get any.  Assuming, of course, he didn't eat some before he told us lunch was ready."

"You're right," Jai said, grabbing another sandwich and stacking it on the plate in front of his sister.  "I can have one less, to make sure that everyone eats."

Irey stopped cold, her jaw dropping.  "Wow.  You gave up food?  I think I've just seen a small miracle."

 

**A/N: I'm still not sure I got the personalities of the speedsters down correctly.  I did the best I could, but it's hard to write characters when you only really know names.  Don't worry, like the current Super Sons, my Robin and Superboy won't be strangers for much longer.**

**Thanks for playing along.**

**By the way, I've decided that this is going to be a two-fer weekend.  Look for two chapters a day on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  The only thing is, it's now very late on Friday (where I am in the world), and I can barely keep my eyes open.  What does that mean?  That means you get this one now, and three on Saturday.**


	5. Chapter 5

Invasion

Chapter 5

 

Sunday afternoon found Robin dozing at the communications console.  His lack of sleep from responsibility, and worry, combined with the fact that they had all been underground for several days, and the lack of a visible day/night cycle was playing havoc with his circadian rhythms, to the point where his body was having trouble distinguishing day from night anymore.

Irey had found him sleeping an hour earlier, and had easily convinced the boys to let him.  They were watching cartoons in the Rec Room when the Zeta Tube announced Starfire, awakening Robin.

The Boy Wonder stood and stretched as the orange-hued woman approached, trailed by a green-colored boy.  He stood several inches taller than Robin, and had wild, spiky green hair.

"Starfire.  I was beginning to wonder if anyone was going to bring Beast Boy.  It's almost a moot point at this junction, isn't it?"

The green youth turned and leaned closer to Starfire, trying to whisper, but his excitement got the better of him.  "You weren't kidding.  It really is Robin!  And he knows who I am!  How cool is that?"

Starfire looked at Robin and asked, "What do you mean, it isn't worth bringing him here?"

Robin looked confused and said, "Batman told me this would all be over by Monday."

Starfire was shocked at the news, "When did he tell you that?"

"On Friday night, when he dropped me here."

Starfire's eyes widened, "Then you don't know?  You haven't heard any updates in two days?"

A sinking feeling entered the pit of Robin's gut.  _What have we missed?_ "No, this stupid computer won't let me do anything worthwhile with my access.  What's going on?"

Clearly looking nervous, Starfire didn't know how much she should reveal, and tried to remove herself from this situation.  "It's not going well out there, Robin.  In fact, if we're going to end this by Monday, I should get back out there."

Starfire turned to the Zeta Tube, only to have the mechanism shut down before she could take two steps towards it.  "Freeze, Alien." She turned back to see Robin standing at the control panel.  He had obviously locked the system down.  "You aren't going anywhere until you explain that remark."

Starfire met Robin's eyes, then glanced at Beast Boy.  Robin gave a minuscule nod before activating the intercom.  "Can everyone come up to the control room for a second, please?"

A minute later, three youths came nervously out of the hallway.  Robin saw them and said, "Everyone, this is Beast Boy and Starfire.  Beast Boy, this is Jon, Jai, and Irey.  It seems like you're stuck with us for a while."

Jon stepped forward, staring at the new youth curiously.  "Are you in costume, or not?"

Beast Boy looked over strangely at the question and asked, "What does that matter?"

Jon had the decency to look slightly embarrassed at his question.  "Robin said we could call each other by our real names, so long as we were out of uniform.  I was wondering if Beast Boy was your real name, or not."

Robin hid a smirk, glad that someone was listening earlier when he talked about secret identities.  "You can figure all that out later.  For now, would you all please take Beast Boy downstairs and show him where his room and the living quarters are?"

Irey looked over suspiciously, and Robin could tell that she knew she was being dismissed.  "All of us?"

Robin took a step closer to the girl and said quietly, "Yes, Irey.  Please?"

The girl caught the begging tone in Robin's voice.  She took another step closer as Jon and Jai were talking to Beast Boy.  Robin whispered, "Please, Irey.  I'll tell you everything later."

"You owe me at least that much for this.  We can't have secrets here."

"You'll get it."

Robin waited until he heard the elevator door ding before turning to Starfire and saying, "Tell me everything."

"With a demand like that, I hardly know where to begin."

"Start with Beast Boy," Robin said, "Why didn't you bring him on Friday, when the rest of us got here?"

Starfire shook her head, "I couldn't find him.  He was with his mother, on a vacation in the middle of Mexico.  It took some convincing to even get them to believe that there was a problem.  Once the war started, they were pretty quick to come along.  We had to drop his mother off in San Francisco before he would agree to come here."

Robin shook his head in surprise, "Wait, his mother is a Meta?  I thought she was a normal human?"

"She is, but she also carries the dormant gene that helped give Beast Boy his powers.  I didn't know if that would be enough to work for Brainiac's machines, so I made a decision."

Robin nodded introspectively, "Good decision.  Better safe than sorry.  Now, tell me about the war."

As surprised as she was at Robin's acknowledgement of her work, she looked pained as she continued, "Brainiac's armada arrived when Superman predicted it would, except..."

"Except what?"

Starfire sighed, "It was twelve times the size that Superman predicted."

"Shit," Robin gasped.

Starfire closed her eyes, figuring it was no use not telling him the rest.  "They bypassed Justice League defenses almost immediately.  The UN and Earth's armed forces were called in as soon as the size of the force was seen, but it is still an uphill battle."

"The Justice League?" Robin asked nervously.

"No casualties, as far as I've heard.  Some minor injuries, but nothing serious."

Robin sighed in relief.  "Have you seen Batman?" he asked quietly.

"I saw him this morning."

"Was Nightwing with him?"

"No."

Robin nearly shouted, "What do you mean, no?"

Starfire flinched at the reaction, "He was asleep."

Robin sagged against the computer console, "Why didn't you just say that, instead of trying to give me a heart attack?  Um...Batman obviously gave you permission to brief me.  Did he, um, give you a message for me?"

"Yes," Starfire said, approaching closer, "He said to continue as ordered, and not to worry about him, Nightwing is taking care of him."

Robin took a slow breath as he thought to himself.  _Continue as ordered.  So, he thinks it is going to be a while.  Nightwing is taking care of him; so, Starfire actually did talk to him.  They're still together, and they're both okay.  Starfire would have told me if they weren't, wouldn't she?  I can live with that; it's probably the best I'll get from Batman._

Another thought occurred to him.  "Will you be seeing him again anytime soon?  Batman, I mean?"

Starfire nodded, "Tonight, I believe."

"Please pass on a message for me.  Please tell him that I will follow his orders.  He shouldn't worry about us, we're safe.  Are there any messages from Flash or Superman?"

Starfire smiled at the question she hadn't been sure Robin would think to ask.  "Yes.  They both wished to make it clear that they are fine, they are taking care of each other, and they send their love to their children."

Robin reactivated the Zeta Tube and said, "Thank you.  I'll pass on their messages."

He thought the alien was looking at him with some form of sadness as she said, "I really do have to go now."

_I already activated the Tube, what more does she want?_   "Very well.  Please be sure to pass on my message, and feel free to make up similar messages for Superman and Flash.  Something to put their minds at ease that their children are still alive and safe.  You saw them, so it won't technically be a lie."

"I will.  Good luck, Robin."

"To you, as well."

Starfire disappeared in a flash of Zeta light, but Robin didn't see it.  He had already turned back to the computer, thinking _I need more information.  I need to know more than what she was allowed to tell me._

Robin opened a search command window and attempted to hack into the Watchtower computer mainframe, only to have the screen flash red, and a computerized voice say, "Access Denied."  Growling, Robin tried again.  This time, his whole console went dark, and a familiar voice said with a chuckle, "What part of 'Access Denied' don't you understand, Little Brother?"

Robin looked up to see Red Robin smiling at him from the screen.  As annoyed as he was at being blocked, he couldn't help being happy at seeing his older brother.  "Red Robin, what's going on?  Why are you blocking me?"

The smile was evident on the older sidekick's face, "Batman's orders.  It isn't so much to block you as to block anyone who might be with you when you make an information request."

_I guess that is understandable,_ Robin thought.  "Well, as you can see, I'm alone.  Where are you," Robin asked.

Red Robin seemed to scan the room before he said, "We all got assignments, Robin.  I'm on monitoring and coordination duty at the Watchtower.  This place seems awfully big, when you're the only one here."

Robin thought for a second before saying, "Okay, so I'm at Mount Justice, you're at the Watchtower, and Nightwing is with Batman.  Where did the Red Hoody end up?"

Red chuckled again, "I think he drew the shortest straw of all.  Batman left him in charge of Gotham.  I talked to him last night, he said it was pretty quiet.  I guess even the Joker is scared of an extinction-level event."

Robin gasped and said quietly, "Is it really that bad out there?"

Red shook his head, "No.  It could have been, if the League hadn't taken point on the defense.  We are making advances, but it is going to be a long fight.  Don't worry, I got you a month's worth of food for four people."

"Did you take into account that two of those people are speedsters?"

"Yes, I did, Robin," Red said.

Robin looked critically at the screen, "How about the fact that there are five of us, with a possibility for more to come?"

RR looked stunned, "No.  No, I didn't think about that.  In my defense, though, I only had a couple hours to put everything together for what was supposed to just be a couple days."

Robin sighed, "Okay.  We'll make due the best we can.  This should all be over before we run out of food, though, right?"

Red Robin couldn't help but notice the slightly pleading tone that had entered his brother's voice over the last question.  "That's the plan, Robin.  Don't worry, we'll be enjoying Agent A's cooking before too long."

Before he could respond, Robin heard a large boom from the other side of the transmission.  Red Robin winced and turned in his seat.  "The Watchtower is under attack.  Automated defenses are responding."

"Are you okay?"  Robin could have sworn that his eyebrows had risen above his mask in surprise and shock.

There was tension in Red's voice as he said, "Sure.  It'll take more than that to damage this place."

Another boom, and Red Robin was catapulted out of his chair and into the screen, making Robin flinch back involuntarily.  Red Robin slid slowly out of frame as more explosions sounded.

Wide eyed, Robin shouted, "Red Robin?  Red Robin!  Answer me, damn it!  Red Robin, respond!"

A new, and infinitely scarier alarm blared in the back of the transmission.  Robin's blood ran cold as he yelled, "That's the decompression alarm!  You're losing atmosphere.  If you can hear me, you need to evacuate.  I'm going to try to remote activate your Zeta Tube.  Get out of there!"

Robin's hands flew over the keyboard, but it seemed like his access still wasn't high enough to get into the system remotely.  "Damn it, it's not working.  Red Robin, you need to get out of there, now!"

The alarms suddenly cut off in a hiss of static and the screen went dark as the connection was lost.  Robin slumped back in his chair, his jaw sagging, and thought, _holy shit, did I just watch my brother die on camera?_

"Robin?"

A soft voice entered his ear as a soft hand landed lightly on his shoulder.  Robin jumped and turned in Irey's direction.  She took a step back and gasped at the horrified expression that Robin couldn't quite control.

"Robin, what is it?  We heard you yelling.

Robin's voice sounded like a hollow shell of its normal tone when he said, "It's not good."

Irey was waiting for more, but that was all Robin could choke out.  She was taking a step forward when the computer beeped.  Robin whipped around and saw a green light, and a message reading 'Watchtower Zeta Tube activated'.

"He got out," Robin gasped.

Robin turned around, but the Mount Justice Zeta Tube remained dark.  "Where is he?" Robin said urgently.  He typed a request into the computer, but growled in frustration at the response.  "Damn it, the Watchtower systems are damaged.  I can't get anything out of them.  Not with this clearance, at least.  Where would he go?"

Irey's lip was quivering as she said, "Robin?  You're scaring me.  What's wrong?"

Robin's head swiveled frantically, trying to find something Irey couldn't see.  "No time," he muttered, "No time.  Where is he?  I have to find him.  No time."

"Robin, you can talk to me."

"There's no time," he snapped, seeming to see the girl for the first time.  "Look, I'll explain everything later, but right now, I have to find Red Robin.  It's an emergency."

"Do you want me to leave," Irey asked in a small voice, expecting to be dismissed again.

"No!" Robin's head snapped up to meet her face.  "No.  Stay.  I...I don't...I don't want to be alone right now.  Please don't leave me."

Irey's eyes widened.  She never thought she would ever hear Robin sound so lost and desperate.

"Where would he go," Robin mused idly before shaking his head.  "Of course, where would we all go?"  He activated the voice command system and spoke to the computer.  "Computer, activate system override.  Recognize Robin, access code ten stroke thirteen stroke zero three four.  Open communication line to Batcave, top priority."

The computerized voice responded instantly, "Voiceprint identified, access code verified, Robin recognized.  Establishing connection."

After a minute of no response, Robin got frustrated and said, "Close communication line.  Access visual security system.  Display video feed, main cave."

The screen displayed the familiar sight of the cave, albeit from the angle of the top of the main screen, where the camera was located.  The camera swept through an arc, and Robin grumbled, "Lights are on, someone must be home.  Why don't they answer?"

Frustrated, Robin cut the connection.  Had he possessed a little more patience, he would have seen a certain butler hustling across the subterranean space just forty-five seconds after the connection was severed.

He slumped back and thought out loud, "I need someone who isn't busy with this threat, with higher access than I have."

Robin snapped his fingers and started dialing a number.  "Who are you calling," Irey asked.

"Maybe no one.  It all depends on whether she takes my call or not."  Robin drummed his fingers on the keyboard impatiently.

The call was answered with a clearly computerized, text-to-speech voice.  "State your business."

Smiling softly, Robin said, "Hello, Oracle.  You're sounding very...digital...today.  I need access to your network."

A far more human voice responded this time.  "Robin, is that you?  Long time, no see."

"No time, Oracle.  This is an emergency.  If you can't, or won't, give me access to your network, then I need you to look something up for me.  I assume you are aware of the war?"

"Funny, Robin," Oracle said, in a voice that made it clear that she didn't think it was funny at all.  "Look, I really can't tell you anything more than Batman has."

Robin winced, "Yes, you can, because this is something Batman doesn't know about yet.  Are you aware of our assignments?"

"Yes.  Nightwing told me..."

"Good," Robin interrupted, "The Watchtower was just attacked.  I don't know if Red Robin was able to get off in time."

There was a slight gasp on the line, "Jesus, Robin.  Why didn't you lead with that?  Pulling up Watchtower feeds."

"I monitored a Zeta transmission, but either the database is damaged, or I wasn't given high enough clearance.  All I know is that it happened, not who went where."

There was a flurry of keystrokes before Oracle said, "You're right, the logs are damaged.  Let me see what I can reconstruct."  More keystrokes preceded Oracle stating, "Okay, last transmission from the Watchtower was eight minutes ago, outbound.  I can't get a name, but I have a partial designator, eighteen."

Robin sagged in his seat, "Red Robin is designator B-18.  Where did he go?"

More keystrokes, "The Cave."

Robin released the breath he had been holding, "Oh, thank god.  Can you call them?  I tried calling, Pen...you know who didn't answer."

"Yeah, hold on."

The line was silent for just over three minutes, during which time, Irey had to remind Robin to just be patient no less than eight times.

Finally, Oracle came back on the line and said, "Agent A appreciates your concern, but he is extremely busy with a damaged bird right now."

Robin closed his eyes in pain.  He suppressed his groan, but gasped out, "How damaged are we talking about?"

"He didn't say, exactly, but for him to be that rushed, it can't be good."

Robin was biting the inside of his cheek to keep his lip from quivering.  "Can you patch me through to him?  I was talking to Red Robin when everything happened.  I might be able to point him in the direction of his injuries."

"Hold on," the former Bat Girl instructed nervously.

The next voice on the line was one that Robin didn't realize he missed so much.  "Master Robin, I am quite busy, so keep this short.  I hate to be rude, but I have a patient to attend to."

Robin didn't mince words, knowing full well that Alfred would hang up on him if he didn't get right to the point.  "I know, that's why I'm calling.  I was talking to Red Robin on a live feed when everything happened.  Look for a head wound, possibly a concussion.  Something hit the Watchtower hard enough to shoot him face-first into the camera.  There was a lot of dust on the screen before the feed cut out, so inhalation hazards need to be checked.  Also, at the end of the feed, the decompression alarms were going off.  He may have been exposed to, at the very least, a depleted atmosphere, if not some level of vacuum, before he made it off the station."

The line was silent for several seconds before Alfred said, "Thank you, Master Robin.  That will help in diagnosing issues.  I shall get started immediately.  Oh, there have been a number of _personal_ messages for you.  If they continue, would you like me to pass along a message for you?"

Robin winced.  _Damn.  I hoped all this would be over before Robin heard about it.  I didn't know there were any Metas in Alaska.  Well, if it is as bad as Starfire said, it must be all over the news._   "Yes, please pass on a message for me.  Tell her that I can't call, but I'm safe.  I had to do my part to help, and I'll call when this is all over.  That should be vague enough for civilian lines.  If you wouldn't feel uncomfortable doing so, would you also tell her that I love her?"

Robin could almost imagine the small smile that crossed the butler's face.  "I will pass along your message, young sir.  Was there anything else?"

"Take care of the Reds."

"I will do my best," Alfred said before cutting the connection.

"Robin, look at this."

Oracle's voice surprised Robin as it came through the speaker.  He hadn't been aware that she was still on the line.  He looked up and saw what Oracle was projecting on his screen.  It was obviously a satellite view of space, but the mass in the center of the screen was unrecognizable to the youth.

"What am I looking at, Oracle?"

Her voice sounded grave as she said, "This is from a military satellite.  That is what's left of the Watchtower."

Robin's and Irey's eyes widened and they both gasped at the floating hunk of debris that used to be a state of the art installation set on a captured asteroid.  "How did he get off of that in one piece," Irey asked.

"He's a Bat," Oracle said, pride in her voice, "They're built tough...hey, wait."

The image suddenly went dark.  Keystrokes could be heard softly over the line before Oracle said, "Huh, I lost the satellite image.  Let me try another."

Oracle pulled up a new image, only to lose that one after a couple seconds.  Bringing up a third satellite gave them an image that lasted for just short of a minute.  "I don't get it.  I'm losing satellite connections."

Robin's eyes widened as something he saw in the corner of the last image clicked in his mind.  "I get it," he said softly, "You aren't losing satellite images; you're losing _satellites_."

"That can't be," Oracle said, although the tone of her voice said that she thought it wasn't out of the realm of possibilities.

A new image flashed up on the screen, showing a distant view of the planet as Oracle accessed an old NASA camera feed from the moon.  An invasion force was swarming around the globe, with the occasional flash of weapons fire and the odd explosion here and there.

"How did you know that was what they were doing?"

Robin hung his head, "Because it's what I would do.  They're taking out the satellite network to cripple our communications infrastructure.  If they were smart, they would follow that up with attacks on landlines and cellular networks.  That would have been my first priority, if I was leading the invaders."

More keystrokes were followed by a gasp from Oracle.  "They've already started taking out terrestrial networks.  I'm showing..."

The line, and the image displayed on his monitor, both cut off in a hiss of static.  Irey whimpered sadly as Robin calmly shut down the communications console and turned off the monitor, surprised that the communication lasted so long.

Several minutes later, Irey spoke in a shaky voice.  "So, what does this all mean?"

Robin took a deep breath before surprising the girl by lifting the lenses of his mask.  Their eyes met for the first time as Robin placed a hand gently on her shoulder and made his prediction in a grave voice.

"We lost."

 

**A/N: Just a reminder to my loyal readers, and a bit of trivia for my new readers, and a bit of a spoiler hint.  I don't write major character death.  I refuse to do it.  After reading this chapter, take that however you want.**

**So, now that he's been introduced, I will just say that my Beast Boy is a 12 year old Garfield Logan.  Like I said before, I am drawing more from Young Justice for this character, instead of the Teen Titans BB.**

**How do you like it so far?  You know how to let me know your feelings.**

**Thanks for playing along.**

**This is the second chapter I was planning on releasing yesterday, but didn't.  Two more chapters to go today.**


	6. Chapter 6

Invasion

Chapter 6

_The following takes place immediately after chapter 5._

 

Irey recoiled back from Robin in fear.  "What do you mean, we lost?  You don't mean _lost_ lost, do you?"

Robin sighed and lowered his lenses again.  "No.  We lost a battle, and it was a big one.  We haven't lost the war."

_Yet,_ Robin didn't want to say out loud.  He knew that Irey was looking to him for some sort of morale booster.  Little did she know that Robin was looking for the same thing right now.

"How bad is it," the girl asked nervously.

Robin looked at her for a second before pressing the intercom button again.  "Everyone, meet in the Rec Room, now."  Robin and Irey rose and headed for the elevator.  "I'm hoping it's better than it sounds in my head.  We'll see, when I let all of you know what is going on.  Flash really didn't tell you what was happening?"

Irey shook her head, "No.  He just said he had to go take care of a problem.  He didn't say anything about a war."

Robin and Irey walked into the Rec Room, and Irey left Robin's side to take a place next to Jai.  Robin thought he had been ready for this, right up until he saw the expectant faces before him.  _This is why I was chosen to be in charge, because as hard as this is to say, I can still say it.  Why is this hard to say, though?_

Robin took a deep breath before starting in.  "I got a couple updates for what is going on.  Irey has informed me that, at least the three of you, were not told what is happening to require us to be here.  Jon, is this true?"

Superboy nodded, "Dad just said I get to spend the weekend here."

Robin sighed, "Okay.  Things have changed, and it is now important that you all understand what our parents are doing out there.  About a week and a half ago, the Justice League received a threat from Brainiac.  Um...Brainiac is an intergalactic being that controls a race of machines.  According to his threat, he found a new way to power his machines, and he's coming to Earth to...harvest the source."

"What is this new power source," Jai asked.

"Metas," Robin replied as evenly as possible.

Jai looked confused, "What are Metas?"

Robin shook his head, trying to hide his cringe, "For lack of a better descriptor, you.  Meta is a term applied to super-powered beings.  Brainiac has found a way to drain your powers to power his robots.  The League suspects that the process is fatal to Meta-powered beings."

"Why would Brainiac warn us first," Jon asked nervously.

"He wanted to make it easier on his forces.  His threat stated 'Hand over the Metas or he will attack Earth'."

Three gasps met his announcement, which was actually better than he thought it would be.  "The Justice League has been using this time to prepare for the invasion.  They set up these safe bases and coordinated with the world's militaries.  They also started tracking down Metas and hiding them.  Beast Boy, this is why Starfire went to find you, to keep you safe.  That is why you all are here.  As far as the world knows, Mount Justice no longer exists.  That is why the League placed us here.  We are completely off the grid, so Brainiac won't have any reason to look here.  The League wants to protect its future by hiding its children.  The plan is that adults are being taken to a facility near San Francisco, while kids are being brought here.  So far, the plan is working."

Jon looked at Robin skeptically, "Then why do you sound like the plan _isn't_ working?"

Robin looked down and said, "The relocation is working.  Everything else is going to hell."  Robin started pacing around the room nervously.  It wasn't the best choice of activities, because his nervous tension started to rub off on the other kids.  "Brainiac's fleet arrived exactly as predicted, except it was a dozen times larger than expected.  The League was overrun quickly.  Earth's armies responded almost immediately, but we are outnumbered.  They just didn't predict this large of an invading force."

"What about our parents," Irey asked, a hint of fear in her voice.

Robin stopped pacing and said, "According to Starfire, who was with them two hours ago, before she brought Beast Boy here, they are fine.  We are still fighting, and we will fight to the last man, if necessary, but Brainiac just struck a huge victory against us."

Beast Boy pointed out, "But, you said we're still fighting, right?"

"I did, and we are.  Brainiac won a battle, and a big one, but the war is far from over.  Brainiac started attacking out satellites."

"Why is that so bad," Jai asked.

"He has cut off our communications systems.  We are cut off from the outside world right now.  If Brainiac continued his attack as predicted, then the Pony Express is now the fastest way to get a message out."

Jon sounded confused, "Why would he do that?"

Robin sighed, "I can think of two reasons.  One, Brainiac is focusing his attack on one part of the world, and doesn't want them to call out for help.  Two, and the one I hope is true, is that Earth's forces are turning the tide and winning the war, and Brainiac is trying to find a way to slow us down, and thinks that cutting off our communications will slow down battle coordination."

Jai looked critically at Robin.  "So, a couple satellites counts as a big victory in your book?"

Robin closed his eyes for a second before walking over to the coffee table and grabbing the TV remote.  He turned on the screen and flipped through several channels before turning back to the youths.  The only thing shown on any of the channels had been static.  "Not a couple satellites, _all_ of them.  Communications satellites, TV satellites, Military satellites, the International Space Station, the Hubble Space Telescope, Sky Lab, Mir, Sputnik...the Watchtower, they're all gone."

Jai and Irey paled and whispered, "The Watchtower is gone?"

Robin nodded, "That's what was happening when you came to find me, Irey."

"What do we do now?" Jon asked in a small voice.

Robin let go of a deep breath before making that decision.  "We keep going.  We follow our last set of orders, and those were to stay here, where you will be safe.  I'm not going anywhere until your parents come and pick you up.  I was the first one in, I will be the last one out.  I would, however, like to start going over some self-defense tactics with each of you.  Just because I told you to run in an emergency, doesn't mean that will always be possible."

"Dad taught us how to fight, Robin," Jai said.

"I know, but that is no reason to slack off.  There is always something new to learn.  I started learning self-defense and fighting before I could walk, and I will be the first one to tell you that you can never learn too much."

Jon stepped forward and said, "I want to learn from you, Robin."

"Me too," Beast Boy chimed in.

Jai looked around the room and said softly, "I didn't say I didn't want to, just that we already know some stuff."

Robin took a step closer to Jai and smiled, "I always figured you did.  This just means we don't have to start with the basics.  We can go straight into the fun stuff."

_Later..._

Following a simple dinner, Robin took Irey and Jai aside and spoke to them in private.

"I wanted to tell you two this alone.  It really isn't for anyone else's ears.  I'm actually sorry that I know it, because it feels like intruding."

"What is it," the twins asked nervously.

Robin took a deep breath, "Starfire saw Flash this afternoon, and he passed on a message for you.  He said not to worry about him.  He's working with Superman, and they are looking out for each other.  He passes on his love, and he wants you two to stay safe.  I...I thought you should hear that."

Robin turned to leave the room when Jai and Irey engulfed Robin in a hug.  Robin sighed, "It wasn't _that_ big of a deal."

Jai exclaimed, "Are you kidding?  Dad's okay!  Who knows when we will hear from him again?  Any news is a big deal."

"Thank you," Irey said softly.

Robin felt just a little uncomfortable, "Yeah, well, he's your father.  He'll do anything he can to come for you.  If this is your reaction, I hate to think what Jon will do when I give him the message Superman left for him."

"He'll be happy," Irey said, "but he'll probably also be sad.  He feels pretty alone here."

Robin cocked his head and asked, "Why?  I thought the three of you were friends?"

"We are," Jai replied, "He was just hoping to get to know you a little better."

Robin was surprised by the statement.  "Me?  Why would he want that?"

"Because there has to be more to you than the mask, but there is also the mask.  You've been patrolling with Batman for years.  Jon is desperate to start patrolling with his dad.  He looks up to you."

A strange new thought was occurring to Robin.  _I'm not a role model, why would he want to look up to me?  Maybe there is more to having me here this weekend than I was told?_   "He shouldn't," Robin said softly.

"Why shouldn't he," Jai asked, "You're out there, doing what we all want to be doing.  We just want to make a difference, too, like you do with Batman.  To be honest, I think we all kinda look up to you, a bit."

Robin sighed deeply, turning his back to the twins.  He spoke softly, but there were no issues in hearing his words.  "That difference comes with a cost.  Do you know how many weeks I've spent in hospitals and treatment beds, because of this?  Can you imagine how many broken bones, concussions, and other injuries we all have suffered to make just a small difference?  Do you know how many crimes we've stopped, only to see the statistics of how many crimes we missed, or couldn't stop?  Do you know how nerve-wracking...how scary it is to go up against the Super Villains?  Do you know how many nightmares go along with this job, or how many scenes you can never forget, no matter how hard you try?  I hope none of you ever have to find out the answers to those questions, because if you knew the real answers, and the truth about my life, both before and with Batman, then you would realize that you are the lucky ones.  Your father has spared you from those horrors.  Superman has shielded Jonathan from what I'm talking about.  I wasn't given that option."

Jai stared at Robin's back suspiciously.  "Come on, it can't be that bad."

"Yes, Jai, it can," Robin said solemnly, and the tone alone caused the boy to believe him.  Robin took a deep breath before saying, "Well, I delivered your message.  I'll see you in the morning."

Robin exited the room, but only walked three steps down the hall before he stopped and leaned against a wall.  _Why do I have to do things like that?  I recognize that they were reaching out to me in friendship.  Why did I have to shut them down like that?  Didn't I tell myself on Friday night to relax and get to know them?  Am I that screwed up, is Talia's conditioning that hard to overcome, that I can't physically accept when someone is trying to be friendly for my own good?  I did the same thing to Drake, and it took years to make it right.  Wasted years.  I don't want to do that anymore.  It's okay to have friends, Damian.  Wait, does this only happen with males?  Irey and I haven't really had any problems.  Robin and I hit it off immediately.  Why can't I do that with Jai and Jon, and maybe even Garfield?  They've done nothing to deserve the way I've treated them.  Maybe I should have Father look into some form of counseling for me when this is all over?  I'm obviously too screwed up on my own._

Robin's thoughts were interrupted as Beast Boy walked down the hall.  He stopped at the costumed youth and said, "Oh, hey Robin.  Listen, I know there is a lot going on, and I probably missed a lot, showing up late, but is there anything I should know about?"

_Here goes nothing_ , Robin thought.  "I think I explained everything before dinner."

"Then, why the secret meeting just now?"

Robin sighed, "Starfire passed along some personal messages for Flash's children.  I thought it would be better if they heard it in private."

Beast Boy's expression cleared, and he said, "Oh, that was nice of you.  Sorry if this is prying, but is everything alright?  You seem like something's bothering you."

Robin had to stop himself from physically recoiling, "That is prying, but it isn't exactly a secret.  We lost the Watchtower earlier."

Beast Boy nodded, "Yeah, I heard that part."

Robin closed his eyes under the mask.  Even knowing he was safe didn't stop the shot of pain that tore through him, even thinking about what he was going to say, "My brother was onboard when it was attacked."

Beast Boy's eyes widened in shock as Robin continued, "He was able to get off before it was destroyed, but he was injured.  Now, with the communications down, I can't call to get an update on his condition."

"That's rough, dude.  Is there anything I can do to help?"

Robin shook his head.  "No.  Unless one of your animal transformations is a communications satellite, there really is nothing you can do...any of us can do...to help the situation right now."

Beast Boy laughed and said, "I'll try, but I don't think I can pull that one off.  Let me know, though.  I feel helpless, just sitting here waiting for a war to end."

Beast Boy walked away, while something he said went pinging through Robin's mind.  Robin pushed off of the wall and hurried to catch up with the emerald youth.  "Hey, wait.  I think there is something you can do to help me."

"Name it, dude," Beast Boy said.

Robin wasn't exactly sure he liked being called 'dude', but he let it slide for now.  "I think you can tell that this isn't exactly the easiest assignment for me.  It isn't just being caretaker of this facility, it's making sure all of you are safe and reasonably comfortable.  I'm barely older than any of you...I'm feeling some pressure here.  When I get stressed, I've been known to become demanding, violent, mean, and any number of less-than-ideal character traits.  The problem is, I don't know I'm doing it until it's too late.  I'm here to keep an eye on all of you.  I'd like you to keep an eye on me.  If I start making unreasonable demands, or start exercising my authority a little too much, or generally getting...well, mean, I want you to call me on it.  Tell me what I'm doing, because I don't always know it in the moment that my actions are...less than desirable."

Beast Boy nodded, "Yeah, I can do that for you.  I think I want this to be a good experience as much as you do.  I'll keep an eye out."

"I've asked Jai to do the same thing.  If I go off the handle, I want you two to reel me back in, by any means necessary.  Just know, though, if I need to be slapped, I will probably fight back."

Beast Boy paled a bit at the thought of fighting Robin.  "Let's hope it doesn't come to that.  By the way, my name is..."

Robin interrupted, "Garfield Logan.  You sometimes go by Gar."

Beast Boy rolled his eyes, "And what should I call you?  I know you have another name."

"But you don't know what it is," Robin smirked, "so, for now, you can call me Robin."

"Is there anything you don't know, Robin?"

"Yeah," Robin huffed, "How to end this war quicker.  I'm not a patient person."

Beast Boy nodded with a small smirk, "I think I'm coming to understand that."

Robin gave a single nod, "Then, it's settled.  I need to find Jon.  Yes, it's another secret meeting.  It's getting late.  You should probably think about getting some rest.  Take it from me, being underground like this is not easy on your body.  You need as much rest as possible.  Breakfast is at seven-thirty."

Robin started to walk away as Beast Boy said, "They told me.  Good night."

 

**A/N: Could this possibly be the beginning of some sort of team?**

**Let me know your thought on the topic.**

**Thanks for playing along.**


	7. Chapter 7

Invasion

Chapter 7

 

Robin sat bolt upright in bed, panting breathlessly.  His eyes were as wide as they could get, he was covered head to toe in fear sweat, and he just barely stopped the scream that sat on the end of his tongue from escaping.  It took several minutes to recover from his night terror, but the only thing he was relieved about was not having to change his underwear.

Robin had dreamed that his offhand prophecy from earlier had come true, and the Earth truly had lost the war.  However, in this version of defeat, Brainiac hadn't drained the powers of the Justice League, he had turned them into robot versions of themselves, bent to serve the will of Brainiac.  The Robot League was tasked with hunting down the children, the last survivors of Earth who could possibly stand against Brainiac's new dominion.  The children were hunted down, one by one, as Robin tried to protect them.  Each time they were caught, Robin was held in place by the mechanical Batman and Nightwing, and forced to watch as the robot parent, slowly and painfully, killed their own child.

Robin had seen people of all ages die in his lifetime, so that wasn't the truly disturbing part of the nightmare.  What really got to Robin was, just before each child died, they asked why Robin wasn't able to protect them.  They were made to beg for their lives, to Robin, before they were killed.  Then, as the last flicker of life died in each child's eyes, the Batman robot would harshly whisper 'you failed' in Robin's ear.

Disturbed, to say the least, Robin did something he swore he wouldn't do while at Mount Justice, he took his mask off.  Damian pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes, trying to make the visions go away.  It only partially worked.

Damian sighed, thinking _I'm not going to be able to get back to sleep until I know my dream was just a dream._

Having sweated through his pajamas, Damian quickly stripped them off.  It was just cool enough underground to send a slight shiver through the young teen.  He quickly pulled on another pair of pajama bottoms, but left his top where it was when another item of clothing caught his eye.  Damian smiled as he pulled the black, hooded sweatshirt with the yellow Batman insignia on the chest from the closet, and held it up to examine it.

_So, was this Drake's idea or Grayson's idea?  I'm leaning towards Grayson.  It is his sweatshirt, after all._

In the end, it didn't matter whose idea it was.  Damian pulled the oversized garment over his head, smiling as he caught a whiff of Grayson's deodorant in the fabric.  He pulled the hood up over his head and walked into the hall.

The hallway lights in the dormitory area automatically dimmed at eight PM to allow doors to be opened without shining bright light on potentially sleeping room occupants.  They came back up to normal illumination at six AM.  The hallway was currently dim, in the middle of a 'night' period, as Damian began his usual nightly rounds.  He turned to check the rooms on his side of the hall when a noise from across the hall changed his usual direction of travel.  Turning to what is normally his final stop of the night, Damian slowly opened the door to Jon's room.

Damian entered silently, but in Jon's current state, it didn't really matter.  Jon sat in his darkened room, on the floor, leaning his back against the side of the bed.  The boy was sobbing hysterically, but his sobs were muffled by his knees.  He had his legs pulled up to his chest, his head buried in his knees, and his arms covering his head protectively.  Damian sighed to himself and thought _what would Grayson do?_

Slowly, Damian lowered himself to sit at Jon's side.  The younger boy still was unaware that the teen was there, until a hand was softly placed on his forearm.

Jon looked up blearily and whispered, "Hi.  Sorry I woke you up."

"You didn't wake me up," Damian said softly.

The voice was not the one Jon was expecting to hear, and it startled him enough to take a closer look at his companion.  "Robin?  I...I'm sorry.  You must be thinking...this isn't really Superman-type behavior...that I'm not worthy of all this...that there's something wrong with me.  S-sorry."

Damian sighed, "Jon, stop.  I don't think that."

"Yeah, but..."

Damian interrupted, "You're in a difficult, confusing situation.  You're separated from your family and forced to be here, with me.  We got some bad news today.  I would be more concerned if you _weren't_ feeling something."

Jon sniffled, "Yeah, but no one else is crying like a baby."

"Just because you don't see it, doesn't mean it isn't happening.  And, even if it isn't happening, that doesn't mean that others aren't having just as hard a time with this whole situation as you are.  Believe it or not, you aren't alone here."

Jon stopped to think, looking up at Robin, "Does that mean..."

Damian sighed and admitted, "You didn't wake me up, Jon.  I had a nightmare."

Jon's eyes widened, "You?  I mean...whoa.  You...You're scared, too?"

Damian patted Jon's arm before draping his arm over the younger boy's shoulder.  "You didn't hear that from me."

Jon regarded the older youth and asked, "Are you okay?  Something looks different about you."

Damian's eyes widened in shock.  _Damn it, I forgot to put my mask back on before I left my room.  Maybe he won't realize what's different._   "I'm okay.  What upset you, Jon?"

Jon's head dropped again, "I can't reach my Mom.  I'm worried.  I wanted to see if she was okay."

_I wonder what it's like to have a mother that's worth caring about enough to have his reaction.  I don't think anyone will disagree with me when I think Brainiac should focus his entire attack on the League of Assassins.  Still, he's hurting, and making a joke like the one I just thought will not help him any._   Damian stared at the boy, "I told you on Friday, the external communication panel can only be accessed by someone with security clearance.  I also told you today that Brainiac is taking out comm satellites.  Even if you got into the comm system, I doubt you could get a call out."

Jon wiped his nose with one hand while pulling a cell phone out of his lap with the other.  "I didn't try the communications system, I tried my cell phone."

Damian took the device gently from the boy and smiled.  The signal indicator on the screen was greyed out, with a line through it, to indicate no signal.  "Well of course you couldn't get a call out on this."

"Why not," Jon asked, confused.

Damian handed the phone back and explained, "Brainiac attacked communications systems.  He would be a fool to not take down the cell networks, too.  Those are the biggest form of civilian communication.  Even if the networks were intact, you would still be hard-pressed to get a signal here."

"Well, why?  Dad said I have a nationwide calling plan." Jon grew a concerned look, "We're still in the United States, right?"

"Yes, we are.  You know where you are, right?"

Jon shrugged and said, "Dad said this is Mount Justice.  I don't remember that from Geography lessons in school, though."

Damian shook his head, "You'll have a hard time finding it on a map, but it"s called Mount Justice for a reason.  We are actually inside of a hollowed out mountain."

"That's cool," Jon gasped.

_Yes, I guess it is,_ Damian thought.  _I wonder if his father told him that he hollowed out the mountain himself.  That might make him happy to know.  We'll see how the conversation goes._   "This mountain was chosen specifically because of the minerals present in the rock.  They act as a natural barrier.  No unwanted signals can get in or out of here.  Now, even if the minerals in the rock didn't block signals, the level we're on is actually underground.  In other words, everything is working against you right now."

Jon sighed, "Oh.  Thanks for explaining it to me.  Honestly, I just figured you would tell me to stop being a stupid baby and to go back to bed."

Surprisingly enough, Damian didn't move to dislodge Jon's head when the boy laid it on his shoulder.  "You aren't the only one with people on the outside that we want to check on," Damian said quietly.  "There are people I want to talk to just as much as you want to talk to your mother."

Jon didn't push for Damian to elaborate on his point.  He just enjoyed the silence and appreciated that Robin wasn't really like his first impression.  "Does this mean you're going to stop wearing your uniform now?"

Damian smirked, "It isn't the most comfortable thing to sleep in.  You'll see it again in the morning.  If you'd like, after breakfast, we can scan the communications system and see if we can get a message out."

"You'd do that," Jon asked, surprise evident in his voice.

The smirk softened into a smile, "I'm not Batman.  I understand your feelings, and can allow for the possibility that you are better able to express them than I am.  I may not feel them or express them the way you do, but I do have feelings.  And yes, I would do that.  I want to know if there are any active communication channels out there, too."

Jon gave Damian a sidelong smirk, "Wow.  With everything Dad has told me about you and Batman, that must have hurt to say."

Damian rolled his eyes as an uncontrolled chuckle escaped his mouth.  "Just a little."

They fell into a surprisingly comfortable silence as Damian wondered if he was currently feeling how Grayson did when he counseled one of his brothers.  He felt...good.  A satisfaction that was unfamiliar to the teen was settling over him as the boy leaned more into Damian's side.  A minute later, Jon gave a small snore, his head still on Damian's shoulder.

Shaking his head, Damian gave the lightest of nudges to the super youth.  When Jon was awake again, Damian asked, "You ready to try going back to sleep now?"

Jon nodded with a yawn and let Damian help him back to his feet.  He stretched expansively before crawling back under the covers.  Damian pulled the blanket up to cover the boy, and was surprised by the warm stare he was receiving.  Jon gave a small smile and said tiredly, "Thanks, Robin."

Damian nodded and turned to leave the room.  He stopped a step from the door and turned his head to the side.  Still not sure he was about to do the right thing, he plowed on anyway.  "Damian.  My name is Damian."

He heard the boy gasp before saying, "Nice to meet you, Damian.  Don't worry, I remember the mask rule."

Damian stared at the boy for half a minute before giving a small nod in acceptance of Jon's word.  "Sleep well, Jon."

Damian left the room as silently as he entered.  Heading back across the hall, he cracked open Irey's door and stuck his head inside.  The girl was sound asleep, with no outward sign of sleep disturbance.  Damian saw no reason to do anything more than leave silently, content that at least one of his charges was getting a good night's sleep.

He didn't have to open Garfield's door to know that he, also, was getting a full night's sleep.  The snores could be heard clearly throughout the hallway.  He opened the door anyway, just for visual confirmation.  He then closed the door quickly, to try to contain the sound.

Finally, he stuck his head into Jai's room, and found the youth staring back at him.

"Jai?  Are you okay?" Damian asked softly.

The speedster crossed his arms behind his head on his pillow, "Finally decided to ditch the mask, Damian?"

Damian shrugged, "I had something in my eye.  I'll put it back on in the morning.  You didn't answer my question, though.  Are you alright?"

Jai sat up as Damian entered the room and closed the door behind him.  Jai pointed at the wall and said, "I don't know what it's like in your room, but the walls are pretty thin over here, and that snoring has been going on for over an hour."

Damian's face paled, but it was invisible in the dark.  _Thin walls?_   "You could always go over and kick him.  You're a speedster, you could kick him and be back in your bed before Beast Boy even feels the pain."

Jai smiled, containing his laugh only because of the late hour.  "I was considering it, until I heard Jon start crying."

Damian looked disappointed, "You heard him crying, and just lay there and let him cry?"

Damian predicted the smirk even before Jai's facial muscles contracted to form the expression.  "Keep that up and I'll start thinking that you actually care about us.  He was barely crying for more than a minute before I heard you talking to him.  Good job, man."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Damian asked defensively.

Jai looked confused, "It means good job.  You calmed him down, made him feel better, and showed that you actually care about what happens to him.  He needed that.  Telling him your name was a nice touch, too.  It shows you trust him, and he's been feeling left out of that."

"So I heard," Damian said in a half-grumble.  "He's a good kid.  There is no reason for him to feel any worse about where he is."

Jai looked down at his lap as he said, "It also helped me with something.  I, uh, I learned a little bit tonight, about you, and the kind of person you really are.  I like what I learned.  You are capable of more than being a junior Batman.  I won't argue with you anymore."

Damian smiled, "Yes, you will.  You can't quit something so ingrained in your personality like that cold turkey, any more than I could just quit being sarcastic.  Anyway, I still need you to keep me in line."

"Don't worry, I'll still do that.  What are friends for?"

Damian's smile sharpened into a smirk, "You tell me.  I don't have any, to know the answer to that question."

Jai shook his head, all joking leaving his tone, "You're wrong.  You have three that I know of.  Maybe even four, and they're all there for you as much as you are here for us."

Damian felt warm at the declaration.  He didn't want to screw this up.  "Thank you, Jai," he said softly, "It's late, try to get some sleep."

"Good night, Damian."

Even watching the shadow Damian had been standing in, Jai didn't realize that Damian had left the room until he turned on the small lamp on the nightstand.

"How did he do that," Jai asked himself with wonder in his voice.

 

**A/N: The sweatshirt mentioned at the beginning of the chapter is the same one Tim bought for Dick in Art of the Con.  It has been mentioned a couple times in the story, and will be mentioned again, but Damian makes a midnight patrol every night as a force of habit.  Just because he isn't fighting crime, doesn't mean there aren't wrongs to right, as seen in this chapter.**

**Thanks for playing along.**


	8. Chapter 8

Invasion

Chapter 8

 

"Hey, so when are you going to start teaching us stuff, dude?"

Robin fielded the question from Beast Boy at breakfast, several days after telling his charges of the changing face of war.

"I've been thinking about that," Robin said around a bite of the pancakes he made that morning.

Irey looked a bit concerned and asked, "Did you change your mind?  Do you not want to teach us anymore?"

Robin shook his head thoughtfully, "No.  I've just been thinking about how best to go about that.  I don't have powers.  I need to be able to design something that is going to challenge you, without putting you in any real danger."

Jon looked interested and said, "Well, why don't you just start us out slow?"

Robin sighed, "That's another thing.  I've never trained 'slow'.  From the beginning, I was taught that the best way to learn something is at full speed.  That might not be true, but you get hit enough times, you learn to block faster."

"Well, any place is a good place to start," Irey said, wondering in the back of her mind just how many times Robin had to be hit to learn to block.

Robin nodded, "Okay, then put on your uniforms.  We'll meet in the training room in two hours."

Having learned Robin's penchant for punctuality, the youths arrived in the training room exactly on time.  Expecting some elaborate setup, they were a little disappointed to just see Robin, leaning against the wall.

He grinned and pushed himself off of the surface.  "Good.  You're all on time."

"What are you going to teach us first," Beast Boy asked, "Some super-secret, awesome Bat-Karate?"

Robin shook his head, "Evasion."

Mercury smirked, "Evasion?  Easy."

Robin raised an eyebrow under his mask, "You think so?"

Mercury scoffed, "I can run from here to California in half an hour.  I think I can get away from anyone trying to attack me."

"Evasion isn't all about running.  Sometimes, that can be the worst thing you could do."

Mercury looked confused, "Like when?"

"Like now," Robin said, pointing up to the ceiling.

The youths looked up to see a rope net hung above their heads.  Mercury laughed, "Really, Robin?"

Robin crossed his arms across his chest, "If it's so easy, escape from that trap."

The speedster smirked and disappeared, only to reappear immediately, sliding across the training room floor with a nearly invisible trip wire wrapped around his legs.  Robin crouched down and spoke softly to the ensnared speedster lying at his feet.

"That tripwire could have been hooked up to high explosives, and all of us would now be dead.  Instead, look what your reliance on speed alone caused."

Mercury looked where Robin was pointing.  The tripwire had released the net, and the other children were trapped under it.

"How was I supposed to know that was going to happen?" Mercury asked indignantly.

Robin shook his head, "There's no way you could have known, but I knew, and if your enemy knows more about your surroundings than you do, it can be a recipe for disaster."  Robin helped unwrap Mercury's legs as the others dislodged themselves from the net.

"So, what is the lesson here," Impulse asked.

Robin said solemnly, "Know your surroundings, know your enemy, know yourself, and always know those better than your enemy does."

"But, you're not our enemy, right," Superboy asked, a slight hint of nerves in his voice.

Robin shook his head, "In the long run, no.  For training purposes, I'm the most dangerous enemy you've ever faced."

That news didn't seem to sit well with the super youths.  Superboy's voice wavered as he said, "I...I don't know if I want to do this, Robin."

Robin gave the boy an even look, "I understand, Superboy.  You're entering this with caution, and that's good.  Just know that you are capable of more than you think you are, and no matter what happens during training, you are never going to be in any real danger, even if it feels like you are."

Superboy's eyes were wide in shock as he digested that bit of information.

"What's first in your evasion training, then," Beast Boy asked.

"The first lesson is the most important lesson I can teach you, for long term survival.  This lesson will apply to everything I ever teach you, everything your mentors teach you, and everything you learn on your own about survival situations."

Robin had the complete, riveted attention of all four youths.  "That lesson is...control."

Robin waved the students over to chairs, set up against one wall.  Robin sat in one, but the others stood and looked warily at the seats.  Robin smiled, "I assure you, they're only chairs.  It is nice to know, though, that you are all learning what to expect so quickly."

They all sat carefully, gingerly, until their full weight was in the chairs.  When nothing happened, they all let out a collective sigh of relief.

Robin continued, "Survival is a game of inches.  Mercury pointed out that he can run to California in half an hour.  That is an impressive feat, but it is hardly useful at all times.  There is no need to run to California when running to the next room will provide just as much safety.  There was a ten foot gap between the center of the net and the tripwire.  The net itself only covered four feet of that gap.  You had six feet free and clear out from under the net, why did you continue to run?"

"I wanted to get out from under the net," Mercury said softly, a blush coming to his cheeks.

Robin shook his head, "You looked up and saw a net, and that was it.  You saw a situation, but you didn't analyze it.  It only would have taken one more second to look up and judge the size of the net, or to look down and see the tripwire.  You could have cleared the net by taking two big steps forward, or to the side or backwards, for that matter.  You saw a trap that you thought required speed, and you went for speed."

Mercury met Robin's mask and said, "Yeah, but I'm a speedster.  Fast is what I do."

Robin almost gave a small smile as Mercury led him nicely into the whole point of this exercise.  "I understand that.  I also understand that your feet aren't the only fast part of you.  Don't always rely on them to get you out of everything.  You can see, think, and react faster than almost any person on the planet.  Don't limit yourself to just running faster than them."

"What does this have to do with control, though," Beast Boy asked, "and how is this relevant to those of us not blessed with super speed?"

Robin turned to look at the whole group of children.  "What is the difference between safe by an inch and safe by a mile?"

"Distance?" Superboy queried his guess, earning a light titter from his classmates.

Robin shook his head, "There is no difference.  Safe is safe, the rest is just a waste of energy."

"There is no need to run to California, when running to the next room will provide just as much safety," Impulse quoted back with a smile.  "I get it now."

A series of nods and smiles crossed the faces of the students.  They were getting far more than they bargained for with this lesson.  Mercury and Impulse had really just thought Robin would be all about tactical, not theoretical.

Robin raised his hand to get their attention again, "Now, there are always situational variances with that rule.  You have to observe the situation and judge the correct response.  For example, if you are trying to flee from a mad dog, or the school bully, then safe by an inch is okay.  If you are running from the blast of a nuclear bomb, I think I would go ahead and opt for safe by a mile, or two.  It will all depend on the situation, but if you are taking an extra second to judge the situation, then you will be able to make the right choice."

Robin stood, "Now, let's move on to more practical evasion techniques.  Evasion is only necessary when you have someone or something to evade.  Fighting crime seems to be in the future for all of you, so you need to learn what people are going to tend to do when confronted.  Most of the time, when you are out patrolling, you are not going to be the one doing the evading.  However, there are groups of people out there who make crime their life's work.  Those people are not afraid when a person shows up in a mask and a cape and tells them to stop.  They won't stop, but they will try to stop you from stopping them.  That is when you need to use your powers and the training your mentors are giving you.  We are just going to cover a few basics of some of the things you will see while out on patrol.  Impulse, grab my arm."

The girl stood and took hold of his outstretched arm.  He shook his head, "No, use both hands.  Get the tightest grip you can get."

"Okay," she said as she squeezed as tightly as she could.  Robin didn't even seem to notice the death grip she had on his appendage.

"Okay.  We're going to display an evasion technique twice, and I want you to look for differences in techniques.  Ready, Impulse?"

The girl nodded.  A second later, following a simple twist and yank, Robin had freed his arm.  He looked out at his audience before saying, "Okay, let's do it again."

Impulse, still wondering how Robin had been able to free his arm almost effortlessly, took an even tighter hold of the limb, no longer holding back in the hopes of not hurting Robin.

Robin sighed softly and whispered, "I'm sorry about this, Impulse."

"Sorry about what," Impulse started to ask when Robin moved.  A different twist and a harder yank sent Impulse flipping to her back, stunned at the sudden change in her position.

Robin knelt at her side instantly, "I'm sorry," he whispered again.  "Are you hurt?"

Impulse's wide eyes were staring at the ceiling, and if she had been a cartoon character, there would have been little chirping birds circling her head.  "No.  It's just...just a surprise, is all."

Robin helped the visibly shaken girl back to her chair, and accepted the glare Mercury was sending his way.  "What was the difference in both of those techniques?"

"Besides you knocking my sister down," Mercury asked angrily.

"Yes."

Superboy spoke nervously, "Well, you got free both times, but the second one took more energy."

Robin nodded, glad that Superboy's answer seemed to distract Mercury.  "Correct.  Sometimes, the second method is necessary, but most of the time, the easier, and more energy efficient method is preferable.  I want you to practice that for a bit.  Pair off and practice getting out of arm grabs.  Most of the criminals you will be facing will be adults.  Adults seem to think they can subdue a child just by grabbing them.  Most of them will go for an arm, since that will be the closest thing for them to grab.  The way out of that is circular motion.  Twist your arm towards the thumb of the attacking hand.  That is the weakest part of the grip.  Even in slow motion, you can break someone's grip safely and effectively, with a minimum of effort."

The youths stood and paired off.  Before they started, Mercury approached Robin and said, "You came close to going too far there.  This is a warning; tone it down."

Robin replied softly, "I didn't like doing that any more than you liked watching it.  Thank you for the warning, though."

The super youths practiced breaking arm locks for the next twenty minutes, and Robin had to admit that he was happy with their progress.  He whistled loudly, to get their attention, and waved them back over to the chairs.

"Good job, everyone, but that is just step one, and the easiest lesson I have planned for today.  If someone can get close enough to grab your arm, then just a little bit closer will allow them to grab your body.  Beast Boy, you're up."

The green-hued youth paled slightly, remembering Impulse flipping just a little bit ago.  "M-me?"

Robin smiled softly, "Yes, you."

The youth approached warily, until he was standing in front of Robin.  Robin grabbed his shoulders and moved Beast Boy, so that their sides were facing the other kids.  "Grab me."

Beast Boy looked confused, "Grab you?"

"Yes."

Beast Boy reached out and grabbed Robin's upper arms with both hands.

Robin shook his head and said, "Okay, stop.  What did he do wrong?"

Beast Boy blushed a brighter green and said, "How could I possibly mess up with your two word instructions?"

"Does anyone see anything wrong with this?"

There were no responses, so Robin illustrated his point.  He punched Beast Boy in the stomach, stopping his hand just as he made contact, so just the sensation of his fist resting against the other boy's stomach was felt.  Beast Boy winced anyway, even though the contact was nothing more than a light pat.

"How about now?"

"Yeah, I get it," Beast Boy said in a strained voice.

Robin looked over at the other students and said, "If your attacker is ever stupid enough to grab you like this, they leave their entire midsection open to attack.  You do exactly what I did, as hard as you can, and you thank them for being stupid while you're running away and they're on the ground, trying to catch their breath.  There is another way, though.  If someone grabs your arms, or even your shoulders, like Beast boy has mine, you windmill.  Like this."

Robin lifted his arms up and around in a broad arc, clearing the grab again.

"Grab me again, Beast Boy, so we can show them what it looks like in slow motion."

Robin again brought his arms up, making sure to point out that his arms were coming up directly under Beast Boy's arms and using the leverage to break the hold and push the arms out of the way.  He demonstrated again, this time with Beast Boy holding on to his shoulders.  It ended with the same results.

"Practice that for a while," Robin instructed.

Robin walked around and observed, correcting form here and there.  While they were otherwise occupied, Robin slipped out of the training room for a few minutes.  He returned a few minutes later with cold water for his students.  Seeing the refreshments, the kids stopped and imbibed.

At the end of their break, Robin asked, "Do you feel you have that down so far?"

A chorus of nods and 'yes's met his question.

"Good.  Let's move on, then.  Just remember, everything you've learned so far will become second nature with practice.  Now, everything I've shown you works if a bad guy attacks from the front.  They don't always do that.  In fact, criminals in general are cowards, and they will prefer to attack from the rear.  Mercury, you want a shot at this one?"

The speedster stood and walked over, "You want me to grab you from behind?"

Robin smirked, "No.  I'm going to grab you from behind, and I want you to tell me what you would do next."

Robin grabbed Mercury tightly from behind, wrapping his arms around the youth.  "What do you do?"

A smirk crossed Mercury's face as he said, "Robin, you're a good hugger.  I bet the girls love that."

Robin rolled his eyes, but he was unable to stop his blush as he thought of his Robin, "Besides making a smart ass remark, what do you do?  How do you get out of this?"

Feeling that another comment would not be well received, Mercury thought for a second before saying, "I try to break your grip?"

"How?"

"Well, everything you've shown us so far has involved lifting our arms, so...that?"

Robin gave a slight nod, "Very good, but the trick is in _how_ you lift your arms.  Before, you windmilled.  This time, you flap.  Give it a try."

Mercury lifted his arms as he was told, and stopped when Robin's grip came apart.  "Is that right?"

"That's right, but it isn't everything.  As soon as you put your arms down again, I can reestablish my grip."  Mercury lowered his arms, and Robin's arms came down again and wrapped around the preteen again.

Beast Boy had a critical look on his face, "Um...if he lifts his arms and your arms go up with them, what's to stop you from just trying to choke him?"

Robin nodded appreciatively, "I was just getting to that.  Mercury, lift your arms again."  He did, and Robin was easily able to slide his arms around the speedster's neck.  "This is a real danger, which is why this escape is a multi-step process.  They have to be done fairly quickly for everything to work, but we are going to go through them one at a time, so you all see the right order.  Mercury, flap again."

The boy raised his arms, and Robin said, "Okay, once you've broken my grip, the next step is to pivot back into me."

Mercury hesitated for a second before saying, "Into you?  Aren't I trying to get away from you?"

"Yes.  You'll see where this is going in a second.  Now, with your arms still raised, step back and turn into me."

Mercury did as he was told, which caused Robin to stagger back a step.

"See?  Now you have me off balance.  I'm focusing more on staying on my feet than on holding on to you.  Now, to finish the move, elbow me in the stomach."

Mercury did, and Robin let himself fall over, to let them see how it should end.  He got up and said, "Good.  Let's try all of the moves together, a little faster.  I'll grab you again, then call out your steps.  You do them as I call them out."  Robin grabbed Mercury again, "Ready?"

He received a nod.  "Flap!"

Mercury's arms came up.

"Pivot!"

He turned, offsetting Robin''s balance.

"Elbow!"

Robin hit the ground again, and this time it wasn't an act.

The other youths murmured excitedly as Robin brushed himself off.  "Again.  Faster this time.  Ready?  Flap!  Pivot!  Elbow!"

The maneuver ended just the same, and Mercury had a smile on his face as he helped Robin up.

"Think you got it down," Robin asked.

Mercury nodded with a smile, "Yeah, that one's cool."

Robin took a deep breath, "I'm glad you think so, because we are going to do it at full speed now, so everyone learns what it is supposed to look like."

Mercury's smile faltered, "Full speed?  I don't want to hurt you."

Robin smirked, "You aren't going to hurt me.  Come on, I know you want to see how this works at battle speed."

"...O-okay."

Mercury was still unsure as Robin nodded.  Suddenly, Robin grabbed the youth roughly, and instinct kicked in.  In a series of moves almost too fast to track, Mercury broke free and sent his attacker flopping to his back.

"I did it," he exclaimed loudly as he looked down at the flattened Robin.

Robin got up with a slight wince, his hand brushing against his chest lightly.  He would have a bruise there in the morning.  "Yes, you did.  Why don't you all try it, slowly?  Once you have the technique down, you can move a little faster, but I don't want any of you going full speed.  Just get the moves down; that will be enough for now."

Despite his warning of caution, the occasional strong pivot or over-exuberant elbow sent all of them to the ground at least once.

Half an hour later, when Robin was satisfied with their progress, he called them back to the chairs for the last lesson of the day.

"I'm glad to see that you are all taking this seriously.  I'll be honest, I didn't think that you would.  I have two last techniques to teach you today, and they will probably be the most important ones you can learn today.  As you may have noticed, all of us here are considered to be children by the world at large.  That means that those you will be fighting are adults, and therefore much larger than you.  Everything I've tried to teach you today can be used against adults, but is better suited for attackers who are close to your actual size.  As opposed to attacking from an even height, adults will come at you from above.  It can't be helped; for now, they are taller than us.  There are two main attacks these adults will use against children.  Superboy, if you please?"

Superboy smiled and walked over to Robin.  Robin turned him to face the other children and stood behind him.  "Okay, the first attack is a cross shoulder grab."  Robin threw his arm over one of Superboy's shoulders, draping it across his chest and under his arm.  "This attack makes it easy for them to either just pick you up and walk off or give them leverage for a throw.  Either way, it's very useful for moving an enemy.  For example..."

Robin tightened his grip slightly and began dragging the youth away.  He hauled him over to a workout mat, where he changed his angle of force and flipped the boy to the mat.

For the second time that day, Robin kneeled at the side of one of the fallen children.  "I'm sorry," he said softly.

Superboy just smiled.  "Don't apologize.  That was kind of fun."

Robin continued, "I'm also sorry for the next hold.  It won't be comfortable, or fun.  You don't have to do that one, if you don't want to."

"W-what is it," Superboy asked nervously.

"A choke hold.  I'm just going to show positioning."

Superboy took a deep breath and looked up into Robin's mask.  "You can do it.  I trust you, Robin."

Robin wasn't sure he should be trusted so easily.  "Are you sure?"

"We need to learn it, right?  It's okay."

Robin helped Superboy up and they walked back to the group.  Robin continued, "Due to the popularity of mixed martial arts, people think they can watch a match and adopt the moves they see without any special training.  That can be very dangerous for us, because done wrong, these moves can cripple or kill.  Everyone, gather around, because I guarantee you will come across this one on the streets at some time."

Mercury pointed out, "You didn't show us how to get out of that grab."

"No, I didn't.  That's coming up.  I just wanted you to see the holds first.  This," Robin wrapped an arm around Superboy's throat, holding the inside of his opposite elbow with the wrapping arm, "is a rear choke, known in parlance as a sleeper hold, and for good reason.  See the inside of my elbow?  See how it's pressing against both sides of his neck?  Directly under both sides of my arm are his carotid arteries.  You see, a rear choke doesn't block off your windpipe.  It's much more dangerous.  Once someone squeezes this hold, it cuts off blood flow and oxygen to your brain.  It doesn't matter who or what you are.  Human, Speedster, half-Kryptonian...whatever the hell you are, Beast Boy, ten seconds in a properly executed rear choke is enough to render you unconscious.  Thirty seconds will begin the onset of permanent brain damage.  One minute, well, you won't be waking up from that."

"Wait, you mean..." Impulse asked hesitantly.

Robin met her eyes seriously and said, "A minute in a properly executed rear choke, and you _will_ die."  Robin let Superboy go and said, "Mercury, if I may?  I would like Superboy to see the proper positioning of this hold."

Mercury nodded, and Superboy got to see what the others had seen.  He didn't look too pleased about the prospects.

"Okay, now you've seen them, and I hope you understand the seriousness of what I'm trying to teach you.  Now, let's learn how to get out of them.  First, there are two ways out of the cross shoulder hold."  He walked up behind Superboy again and placed both hands on the boy's hips.  "These are your hips.  You are going to use them to provide a pivot point."

Robin wrapped his arm around Superboy's shoulder again.  "To get this grip done right, I have to be good and tight against Superboy's back.  That will actually work against me.  First, Superboy is going to grab my arm with both hands." He did.  "Next, you are going to shove your hips back into me, as hard as you can.  While you're doing that, you are going to bend forward and pull down on my arm as hard as you can.  Let's go slow here the first time.  You already have my arm.  Right now it is a toss-up on who controls who.  Hips."

Robin was forced to take a step back.  "Throwing his hips back like that has now created some space between us, making it harder for me to consider myself the dominant one in this position.  Now, bend and pull."

Robin was dragged off to the super youth's side.  "Technically, he's out of the hold.  However, when done at full speed, all three movements are done at the same time.  This isn't three individual steps, like the last evasion technique.  These are three individual parts of one step, and work best when performed as one.  Superboy, do you think you can do all three steps at the same time?"

Superboy thought for a long second, going over the sequence of events in his mind.  He nodded, "Yep.  Let's try it."

Robin returned the nod, "Good.  Stand back everyone.  If this works right, you may be surprised."

Robin grabbed Superboy again.  Superboy waited a second as he drew up his nerve, then made Robin proud and performed the move flawlessly.  As expected, Robin was tossed in a shoulder throw to the ground in front of Superboy.  The tendons in his arm screaming in pain, Robin thought _maybe I shouldn't have chosen the half-Kryptonian for this one._

Still lying on his back, Robin said, "That is exactly what is supposed to happen.  That is exactly what it's supposed to look like.  Good job, Superboy."

The smile at the job well done couldn't quite cover the wince at the thought that he had hurt Robin.  _Dad told me to be careful about my strength.  He looks like he's hurting after that.  I don't want to hurt anyone._

"There is another way out of this hold that is a bit simpler, but the result is a little different."  Robin got up and threw his arm around Superboy again.  Superboy didn't see the wince on Robin's face as the arm snaked over his shoulder.  "Superboy, grab and hips, but don't bend and pull."  He did.  "You see that he has created space between us.  Now, Superboy, turn your body away from my arm.  Since you created space, and you control my arm, you are now free."

Sure enough, Superboy found that he was free of Robin's grasp.  Robin pointed out one last part of his evasion technique, "This only works if your attacker only grabs you with one arm.  If they grab you with both arms, then the first maneuver is going to be the one you will want to go with.  I want you to practice that for a few minutes.  Just the individual moves, though.  I don't want to see anyone flying through the air."

The youths again worked on their technique.  Robin found that he had to spend extra time with each set of pairs, to give extra pointers and correct form.  He also found that his shoulder was complaining loudly.  Unfortunately, Superboy saw when Robin worked his shoulder around, trying to relieve some of his discomfort.

Robin caught the guilty look on the boy's face.  _Why do I feel bad that he feels bad?  He was only doing what I told him to do.  He survived, he should feel good._

Once he had given his shoulder several extra minutes to calm down, Robin called the kids over for the last lesson of the day.  "Okay, I showed you what's next.  Make no mistake, practicing this will not be fun, but it may save your life one day.  Does anyone want to volunteer for this?"

Hands were reluctant to go up, and finally Mercury stepped forward.  Standing before Robin, Mercury nervously requested softly, "Go easy, okay?"

"Don't worry," was replied, just as softly.

Robin stood behind Mercury and draped and arm loosely around the boy's shoulders.  "It would be best if everyone stood close for this one.  The moves are a bit subtle.  Now, most of the people who try to do this hold will not be able to do it properly.  When that happens, you fight dirty.  Fight, scratch, bite, pull, stomp on feet, throw elbows, do anything you can to break their grip.  It will save your life.

"If you get someone who can properly execute a sleeper hold, you have a very limited time to get free.  Your first step in getting out of a rear choke is to resist the urge to pull down on the choking arm."  While he had been talking, Robin had slowly been sinking a proper sleeper hold on Mercury.  The speedster didn't realize that he was in the hold until Robin's sleeve rubbed against his neck.  "Unless you have super strength and are planning on ripping the arm clean off, pulling down actually helps your attacker get better positioning.  What you want to do first is turn your face towards the attacker's elbow.  There will be a bit of space there that you can use."

With his non-choking hand, Robin grabbed Mercury's head and turned it to face his elbow.  "Next, lower your chin as far into that gap as possible."  Robin pushed down on Mercury's head, until he could feel the boy's chin in his elbow.  "The farther down you can get your chin, the better.  Third, push up on the arm.  If you do all of these steps right, the arm will slide up the outside of your jaw and make room for blood flow to return to your brain, thus saving your life."

Superboy looked critically at the situation and asked, "Won't that hurt your nose?"

Robin shrugged, "It's all a matter of perspective.  Would you rather have a broken nose or a broken neck?  Breathing though your mouth for a week or so is far preferable to not breathing at all."

"I...I guess so," Superboy considered.

Robin nodded, "Mercury, do you feel up to demonstrating again?"

"Sure."

They demonstrated the technique five more times before Robin asked for another volunteer, so Mercury could see what the procedure looked like.  Beast Boy wasn't happy to be the guinea pig, but he got through it.  He demonstrated an additional five times before he turned the students loose to practice on their own.  Robin made sure to keep a close watch on the proceedings, to ensure no one got hurt.

While observing, he noticed something interesting.  _Superboy is holding back,_ Robin thought.  _He becomes timid when playing the attacker, and he freezes when he is being attacked.  This should be relatively easy for him._

Robin stopped Superboy and Impulse to coach the boy.  "What's wrong, Superboy?"

"Nothing," the youth said guiltily, looking away from Robin.

Robin sighed, "You're holding back.  This is practice, you aren't going to hurt anyone here."

Superboy was surprised that Robin was able to guess his fear.  "I might.  I've done it before, accidentally.  I hurt you, earlier."

Robin shook his head, "What I taught you was designed to hurt your attacker.  You can't hold back out there, not if you're going to save your life.  You shouldn't hold back here."

"I don't want to hurt anyone," Superboy mumbled.

Robin stared seriously at the boy, not realizing that it couldn't be seen under the mask.  "If you want to save your life, it may be necessary to hurt someone.  It is more important that you make it home, than for some enemy to go home uninjured.  This is a time-sensitive maneuver.  If you don't do it fast enough, it could cost you your life.  Remember, you only have ten seconds of useful consciousness before it's too late."

"I...I don't think I can do it, Robin.  I don't want to do this anymore," Superboy said softly before turning away.

"Yes, you can," Robin said testily as he approached behind the boy.  Quickly, he sank a rear choke on to Superboy, who screamed, bringing the rest of the room to a halt.  Robin tightened his grip dangerously and started counting down loudly, "TEN, NINE, EIGHT, SEVEN, SI..."

Robin never finished his countdown, as Superboy screamed again and threw a super-powered elbow into Robin's chest.  Robin was sent flying across the room, where he landed in a heap against the far wall, trying desperately to catch the breath that had been knocked from his body.

"I told you I don't want to hurt anybody," Superboy screamed as he ran out of the training room, crying.

Impulse followed after him as Mercury and Beast Boy approached Robin, arms crossed over their chests.

"Too far, man," Beast Boy said sternly.

Robin gasped out, "I know," before he was left on the floor of the training room.

 

**A/N: Has our Boy Wonder botched up his new friendships?  Will the Boy of Steel understand that Robin was just trying to help him?  Tune in tomorrow to find out.  Same Bat-Time, same Bat-Channel.**


	9. Chapter 9

Invasion

Chapter 9

 

Superboy wasn't seen for the rest of the night.  If he hadn't dragged himself to the kitchen, Robin felt that the others would have ignored him, too.  He knew just how wrong he was, but Robin didn't know that things would go so bad after one practice display.

He hadn't been trying to hurt the boy, or to embarrass him.  Robin just wanted to prove to Superboy that he could do more.  While it hadn't been the lesson, or the result, Robin had been expecting, one way or another, Superboy had proven Robin right.

After getting the cold shoulder from the other children during dinner, Robin went to try to make things right with Superboy.  However, instead of barging into the boy's room, Robin knocked on the closed door.

"Come in," was answered softly from the other side.

Robin opened the door and stuck his head into the room.  The youth's gasp was expected.  "W...what do you want," Superboy asked, a bit fearfully.

"You missed dinner," Robin said softly, as he stepped into the room and pulled a bowl from behind his back.  "I thought you might be hungry."

Superboy's stomach growled lightly at the thought of food.  Robin gave a soft smirk and closed the door behind him as he slowly approached the seated youth.

"Soup," Jon asked curiously.

"No," Robin said, handing over the bowl and sitting on the floor, next to Jon.

Jon was surprised that the bowl was cold in his hands.  "Strawberry ice cream?" Jon asked incredulously as he took a bite.

"You're not allergic to strawberries, are you?"

Jon shook his head happily, "No, I love them."

The next time Jon looked up, half of his bowl was empty, and he gasped at what he saw next to him.  "You...you took your mask off."

"Jon, I owe you an apology.  I was out of line today.  I forget that you all are not me, and you shouldn't be forced to train the same way I was."

Jon looked nervous, "Is that how Batman trained you?"

"Batman has been responsible for very little of my training.  It was...before Batman.  You really don't need to know about that."

Jon looked slightly ill as he said, "I'm curious now, but I think I really _don't_ want to know."

Damian nodded, "It's better that you don't know.  Look, I'm not accustomed to apologizing for my actions, but today needs to be an exception.  I'm sorry for how I treated you in there."

"Why did you do it, Damian?"  Jon's question held just as much confusion as it did accusation.

Damian held his flinch in check.  _I took off the mask.  Per my rules, he can call me that._   "You are capable of so much more than you were showing in training today.  I wanted to force you to realize that.  I guess I reverted back to my early training."

Jon sounded betrayed, "You said I wouldn't be in any danger."

"You weren't," Damian said with a sigh.  "I would have let go before you passed out.  It wasn't necessary to do that though."

"Neither was attacking me."

Damian looked down guiltily, "You're right."

Jon hadn't expected that answer.  The room was quiet until the boy finished the last of his ice cream.  "So, what are we going to do about this?"

"That's up to you," Damian said, a bit nervously.

Jon thought for a minute and asked, "Are you planning more lessons?"

"If I did, do you think anyone would show up?  I think I burned some bridges today."

Jon looked up honestly and said softly, "I would.  I liked learning from you, and I did learn a lot today.  You're a good teacher.  You just need to stop, you know, trying to kill your students."

Damian gave a weak smile, "I promise, no fatalities."

"You were really trying to help me out?"

Damian shrugged, "In my own, screwed-up way, yes."

Jon nodded as he handed back the empty bowl, "I forgive you, but don't do it again."

"I appreciate that, and I'll try not to try to kill you again."

Jon smiled and asked, "Did I hurt you earlier?"

Damian nodded, "Yes, but it was nothing more than I deserved."

"Are you okay?"

"Believe me, I've had far worse."

Jon hesitated for a second before asking his next question, which he didn't know how Damian would take.  "Are any of your lessons going to be fun?"

Damian regarded the boy, "I find the ability to return home alive to be _very_ fun."

Jon rolled his eyes, "There has to be more to you than the uniform, Damian.  What do you do for fun?"

Damian stayed silent, thinking.  Jon sighed, "Fine, keep it to yourself, _Robin_."

_Why did hearing that hurt more than the elbow to the chest?_   "I draw," Damian whispered.  "I'm sorry, it just feels wrong to open up to people while in uniform."

"That's all you do?  Draw?"

Damian shrugged, "I don't have time for much else.  When I'm not Robin, I'm busy with school, or talking to my girlfriend.  What little time I have free is usually spent drawing or sleeping.  I exercise with my dog every now and then, too."

Something Damian said caught Jon's attention, "Trouble keeping up in classes?  Is that why you spend so much time on school?"

Damian shook his head, "No.  I'm trying to graduate early.  Missing this time to be here is going to put me seriously behind.  Now that I think about it, I might not be able to graduate at the end of this school year now."

Jon's jaw dropped, "Dad said you are thirteen, when I asked him.  How far ahead are you?"

"Three years," Damian said, like it was a common, everyday occurrence, "It's not that big of a deal."

Jon looked astonished, "So, what is your actual grade level?"

Damian looked over, "I should be a freshman, but I'm doing senior year work right now."

Jon looked like he couldn't comprehend what he was hearing.  "...And I thought some of the stuff in fifth grade was hard."

They were quiet for a minute before Damian said, "I will try to come up with something 'fun'.  I just hope you aren't the only one who shows up."

"They'll be there, don't worry about that."

Damian glanced over, a bit nervously, "Are we good?"

Jon smiled, "Yeah, we're good."

Damian stood up, affixing his mask back over his eyes, "Good.  See you at breakfast."

Robin left the room, his mood much lighter than when he had entered.  He barely got Jon's door closed behind him before Jai called out to him.

"Hey!  What do you think you're doing in there?"

Robin turned to the street-clothes clad speedster, "The worst thing possible, Jai.  I apologized to him."

Jai's eyes widened, "I'll check on that, you know."

"I expect nothing less.  Look, it hasn't been a good day.  I'm going to try to get some sleep.  Do me a favor and don't lock your door tonight.  It's a pain to have to pick your lock every night, just to check on you."

_The Next Day..._

Robin endured the wary stares of the other children over the breakfast table, until Jon walked into the dining room and sat next to Robin cheerfully.  The mood eased slowly as Irey, Jai, and Garfield realized that Jon wasn't holding a grudge.

"What's the plan for today, Robin," Jon chirped from the Boy Wonder's side.

Robin looked at the other three and said, "If you're willing, I would like to continue with evasion drills.  There is one more big aspect of evasion that I didn't cover yesterday."

Irey looked between Jon and Robin.  "Jon, how can you sit there, smiling, after what he tried to do to you yesterday?"

Jon shrugged, "We talked last night.  I understand what he was trying to do.  We both agreed that it could have been done differently, but it's okay."

"I'm not here to hurt anyone," Robin said softly, "I apologize to all of you for my actions yesterday."

"I can see why you are a good match for Batman now," Irey said, "You were scary yesterday."

"I'm sorry," Robin said, looking at his now-empty plate, "I'm just trying to teach you all how to keep yourselves safe.  You should know by now that the world isn't a nice place.  There are bad people out there.  The sooner you prepare yourselves to deal with that, the better."

Jai looked at the youths on his side of the table and got slight nods from both of them.  "Robin, we were prepared to teach you a few lessons of our own, but it seems that you've already learned them.  Yesterday will not happen again, or there will be problems."

Robin nodded, "I didn't want yesterday to happen either, but...thank you for giving me another chance."

Garfield shrugged, "You've done okay so far.  We can keep this going for a while."

An hour later, they regrouped in the training room.

Robin was surprised, but pleased, when everyone showed up for his next lesson.  "There is one last point in discussing evasion.  Everything I taught you yesterday can be used to save your lives, but it is only useful if the enemy gets their hands on you.  They can't choke you out if they can't touch you.  You all have special powers that give you an advantage over almost anyone on the planet.  I'm not equipped to teach you how to use your powers, but I know that all of you have years of training from your parents.  I think it's time we give those powers a test.  For today's training, you only have one objective.  Using the two storage levels, the main level, the habitation level, and the training level, your goal is to elude me for as long as possible."

The kids looked at Robin for a minute before Irey said, "Is that the only instruction we get?"

"Yes."

"Can we use our powers," Jai asked.

"All but one," Robin said, pointing at Garfield.  "Beast Boy, I don't like spiders.  If you were to turn into one to hide from me, I might have to step on you."

Beast Boy nodded as Jon asked, "So, we have five levels where we can _hide,_ and you are going to... _seek?"_

Robin just barely hid his smirk, "If you want to put it that way."

Beast Boy smiled, shaking his head, "You, of all people, want to play hide and seek, and call it training?"

This time, the smirk came out, "If you know a better way to practice evasion skills, we can do that."

"No, this is good," Beast Boy said quickly.

Robin nodded, "Good.  If there are no further objections, you have five minutes head start.  I warn you, though, it won't be enough."

The four youths laughed as they ran out of the training room.  Robin waited until they were gone and their laughs had faded into the distance before he sat down in the middle of the room and pulled a PDA from his utility belt.  Turning on the screen showed a map of Mount Justice laid out, with four bright red dots indicating his charges for the duration.

_If only they knew they had been tagged with trackers...they probably wouldn't be too happy, actually.  I'll explain it as a lesson in paying attention to their surroundings.  Putting trackers in their clothes was too easy.  Grayson would probably say this is cheating, but I think Father would approve.  I won't find them too quickly, and maybe it won't come up._

Robin allowed their five minute head start to extend for an extra fifteen minutes before wandering out of the training room.  To make it more interesting for him, Robin decided he wouldn't find the others and shout out their location.  He would find them and take stealth pictures of them with the camera in his mask, and when they were crowing about their victory in outwitting Robin's efforts to seek, he would display the pictures and show them that they had actually been found.  To be fair, Robin also decided to not consult his PDA after leaving the training room.

The first person he came upon was Beast Boy, hiding in the dining room as a mouse near the garbage can.  Robin pretended he didn't see him as he took a couple pictures before leaving the room.  Irey was found on the top storage level, having hidden among a stack of mattresses.  Jai was a little harder to spot while staying hidden himself, but Robin got a good picture of Jai in the training room linen closet.  Jon was the last one found, hiding in a darkened corner of a back staircase.

Robin returned to the communications room and uploaded the pictures to the computer.  As he was leaving the room, the Zeta Tube activated and announced the arrival of Arsenal.  Robin hurried back into the room and confronted the one-armed man.

"Arsenal?  What are you doing here?"

The man looked at the Boy Wonder with a look of relief.  "Robin, good.  Nightwing said you were in charge here."

Robin's mood rose instantly, "You saw Nightwing?  When?"

Arsenal sighed and said, "A couple days ago.  He said it would be safe to bring Speedy here."

He gestured to his side, where a young girl with long black hair stood.  She glared up at her father and said, "I told you I don't like that name.  I prefer Purple Arrow."

Arsenal smiled down at the girl, "And I told you, when you're done with training, you can take whatever name you want.  Until then, you're Speedy."

Robin looked at the pair strangely, "Why bring her here, though?  Brainiac isn't looking for her."

"I want her to be safe," Arsenal said, as if the answer should have been obvious.

"I understand, but she's safe out there."

Arsenal shook his head, "No one is safe out there."

A brick dropped into the pit of Robin's stomach at those six words.  "What does that mean?  Our comms have been out for weeks, what's going on out there?"

Arsenal hesitated for a second.  He hadn't known that the Mountain had just as little communications ability as the rest of the world.  "Brainiac has a foothold in the Midwest.  He's devastated South East Asia.  He is making inroads into mainland Europe.  We are doing the best we can, but his invasion force is huge."

Robin paled a bit as he walked over to the communications panel and pressed the button for the intercom, "Report to the Communications room, immediately."

Robin walked back to Arsenal and asked, "You saw Nightwing?"

"Yeah."

"W-was he...o-okay?"

The man had never heard Robin sound so insecure, "As of a couple days ago, when I saw him, he was."

"What about Batman," Robin asked softly.

Arsenal shook his head, "I haven't seen him.  He's running North American operations, so he is pretty busy."

Robin sighed, thinking _he's got to be okay, if he's in charge._

"Lian!"

Arsenal and Robin turned to the hallway in time to see Irey disappear, only to reappear, hugging the shorter girl.

"See?  I told you there would be someone here you knew."

Robin waved the boys over and asked, "What about Superman and Flash?  Any news about them?"

The man looked at the hopeful expressions on Jai and Jon's faces and said, "I haven't heard anything about them lately.  When things started going bad for us, they went to Europe, to head up operations there."

Robin had his hands comfortingly squeezing Jon and Jai's shoulders as he stood in between the boys.  "How about Titan's Tower," Robin asked.

Arsenal sighed, "Robin, communications are down planet-wide."

"Yes, I know.  You are the first person from the outside that we've seen in weeks."

Arsenal closed his eyes, "I understand that, but you need to understand that word of mouth takes a long time to travel.  Every time we have set up a new network, Brainiac attacks it.  News is hard to get out these days."

Robin sounded almost desperate, "But, you're out there.  You must hear rumors.  We don't hear anything.  Beast Boy's mother is there.  Surely you've heard something."

The former archer felt pity at the hopeful expression held on the green face.  "If Brainiac had hit something as big as Titan's Tower, news would have traveled, especially with it being used as a safe house.  It hasn't, so I would assume that it is still there."

Beast Boy released the breath he had been holding as a sick smile crossed his face.  "Thanks," he said softly.

Arsenal turned to Lian and said, "I have to get back, honey.  I'll see you when this is all over.  Listen to Robin, he's in charge here."

"Be careful, Dad," the girl said softly, hugging the man.

"I love you, Lian."

Arsenal left through the Zeta Tube as Irey showed their newest resident to a bedroom, where she could finally put down the duffle bag she had brought with her.

Jai turned to Robin and said, "I thought you said you would have no trouble finding us?"

Jon and Garfield were trying to hold their laughs when Robin walked back to the computer and brought up the pictures he had taken.  "I didn't.  I just wanted you to feel you were doing well."

The boy's jaws dropped as they saw themselves on the screen.  "Okay, you win," Jon said.

They walked away from the console when an authoritative voice captured their attention.

"Attention."

"Batman!" Robin gasped excitedly, turning back to the Zeta Tube, only to find it dark, and the room empty.

The disembodied voice sounded again, from the computer.  "Attention.  Zeta Tubes are now offline until further notice, by order of the Justice League Council."

Robin's face fell hard as he realized it was only a standard recording, not a live transmission.  His heart ached at the sound of his Father's alter-ego's voice.

A hand softly patted Robin's back.  "You'll see him again," Jon said softly.

"Thanks."  Robin tried to hide how much hearing his Father's voice had boosted his spirits for the split-second before he realized it was just a recording.

"What does that mean," Jai asked, "Why would they shut the Zeta Tubes down?"

It took Robin a second to recover himself before he could answer.  "There is only one reason they would do that.  The system has to have been compromised."

Jon asked, "But the sites are hidden, how could Brainiac get control of one?"

Robin shook his head, "Brainiac's forces took the Watchtower.  It must not have been as badly damaged as it looked from the outside.  Brainiac must have figured out how to use the system.  The League had to shut it down, to keep everyone safe.  We really _are_ on our own, now."

Robin hadn't meant to say that last comment out loud, but he did.  It took several long seconds for the scared looks to flee from the boy's faces.

"Y-you've got this, though.  We...we trust you, Robin."  Jai's nervous reassurance was a little less reassuring than Robin hoped it would be.

_He's right, I have this.  I was chosen for this, because I can suck it up and get everyone through this...no matter how scared I really am right now.  I don't have any other choice._

Robin took a deep breath before saying, "Yeah, sure.  Come on, let's go make sure Lian is going to be okay here.  It's almost lunch time."

 

**A/N: So, yes.  As Robin stated, they have been in hiding for several weeks at this point in the story.  I have jumped ahead a bit in time.  I'm pretty sure I've screwed up in time with making the leap ahead, but it's my story.  My Speedy is an 11 year old Lian Harper.  Just so you are aware, I know nothing about that version of the character, so everything I write is something I have made up to serve the story.  I thought it would be nice to have another female character in the story.  Irey must hate being the only girl in a mountain full of boys, so I wrote a friend for her.**

**If anyone else thinks some sort of _team_ dynamic is forming, I would love to hear your thoughts about it.**

**Thanks for playing along.**


	10. Chapter 10

Invasion

Chapter 10

 

Following lunch, Lian and Irey disappeared from the Rec Room while Robin showed a movie for the boys.  They ended up in Lian's room, after Irey gave her a short tour of the areas they had been using in Mount Justice, and sat down to talk as Lian unpacked her duffle bag of clothes.

"How long have you all been here," Lian asked.

Irey had to think for a second.  The days seemed to blend together, when she couldn't see the sun.  "I don't know, for sure.  We all got here the night before the war started.  Well, all except Garfield.  He came a couple days later.  We didn't know at the time that it was going to be a war, but that's when we got here.  A couple weeks, I guess?"

Lian's eyes widened at her friend, "Wow, so you've missed all of it?"

Irey nodded, "We didn't even know there was a war going on, until Robin told us.  I guess he was told more than we were.  He has access to the computer systems; none of the rest of us do."

"How many of us are there here," the dark haired girl asked.

Irey looked at her strangely, "You saw everyone at lunch.  That's all of us."

"So, Robin really is in charge of this place?  There aren't any adults here?"

"Yeah, he is."

Lian smirked, "And, he makes you call him Robin?"

Irey smiled, "He says it's Batman's rule.  No one can know their identities."

Lian's eyes narrowed in thought, "Don't you already know his name?"

"I do.  I think the only one here who doesn't know is Gar."  Lian looked confused, so Irey clarified, "Garfield.  Beast Boy.  Oh, I probably shouldn't have told you his name, but he isn't as protective of his identity as Robin is.  Wait, do you know Robin's name?"

Lian blushed slightly, "Yes.  I'm not supposed to, but I overheard Dad talking to Nightwing.  Dad just said not to tell Robin that I know it."

Irey nodded vigorously, "Don't tell anyone that you know.  It'll just be better that way."

Lian agreed, and they fell silent for a minute before Lian asked, "So...what do you guys do here?"

Irey sighed, "Try to stay busy, mostly.  It was easier to do before the internet went down, but we've been managing.  I'm glad you're here, though, Lian.  It's been hard, being the only girl in a mountain full of boys."

"This place looks pretty clean, are you going to want me to help you with the chores?"

Irey smiled and shook her head, "Actually, Robin has been doing most of the cleaning, along with all the cooking, and making sure everything is running smoothly.  He's really done a good job taking care of us.  It hasn't all been good, but most of it has.  I think it keeps his mind busy, and not focused on the fact that he doesn't want to be here."

Lian looked confused, as she finished unpacking her clothes.  "If he doesn't want to be here, then why is he doing so much?"

Irey smiled, "I asked him that a couple nights ago.  He said, he was given a job to do, and no matter how much he doesn't like it, he's going to complete it.  It was weird, though.  I really don't get the feeling that he hates being here as much as he said he did.  At least, not anymore.  I think we're growing on him."

"Where do you think he would rather be?"

"With Batman, of course," Irey answered immediately, without having to think about the response.  "The night we were left here, he was acting really weird.  He wasn't comfortable around us, obviously, but I got the feeling that something else was going on.  He hasn't talked about it, and I'm not going to be the one to ask."

Lian joined Irey in sitting on the bed, after finding a place in her closet for her empty duffel bag.  Irey glanced over nervously, finally asking, "What's been going on out there?  We haven't heard anything in weeks."

The raven-haired girl hesitated before answering.  "It's bad, Irey," Lian said in a haunted voice.

"How so," Irey asked quietly.

"Dad's tried to keep a lot of it from me, but it seems like the only place to hide from it anymore is here.  Dad boarded up the house, and he's been training me a lot more.  The last news report I saw, before all the TV signals stopped, said that all those people who voted for gun control were trying to change their laws to protect themselves.  There's fighting all over the world, but no one really knows, or is saying, why they're attacking us.  It's scary.  Attacks come out of nowhere, and are done just as quickly as they came.  Why are they here?"

Lian didn't expect an answer to her supposedly rhetorical question, but unfortunately, Irey had one.  Irey's eyes were wide as she said quietly, "I know why they're here."

Lian gasped, "Why?"

Irey whispered, leaning in closer, "Robin told us, after we lost communications.  This alien wants _us."_

Lian was confused, "What do you mean, us?  You mean children?  Is that why you all are hiding here?"

The speedster shook her head, "No, us.  Heroes.  People with powers.  Robin called us 'Metas'.  This alien figured out a way to suck out our powers to work his machines."

"Wow," Lian said, leaning over and hugging Irey.  "I'm glad you're still here, then.  I would hate to see that happen to you."

"Thanks," Irey said, returning the hug.  Hearing her own description of the situation caused a shiver to run up her own back, at the thought of some mostly unknown force targeting her, for no other reason than an accident of biology.

Lian looked depressed suddenly, "I guess that explains why Dad didn't bring me here sooner.  I don't have any powers to suck out."

"Neither does Robin.  I don't think it really matters if you have powers or not anymore.  You're here now.  We'll be safe here.  Oh, I should probably tell you Robin's safety precautions.  We can go look at it later, but there is a safe room on the bottom floor of the Mountain.  We didn't go that far down earlier.  If something happens, and Robin tells us to run, that's where we go."

"What do you mean, if he tells us to run," Lian asked, confused, "Won't he run with us?"

Irey paled.  She hadn't thought about that before.  "I...I don't know.  Now that I think about it, everything he's tried to set up here makes it sound like he won't run.  He told us where to go, how to lock ourselves in, and who has access to open the door.  He didn't say anything about being with us."

Lian gasped, "You don't think he would try to fight the invaders on his own, do you?  Whatever these things are, they have no trouble dealing with the police, or even the Army.  Dad said not to mess with them."

"But, your Dad had fought them, right?"

"Well, yeah, but he always said how hard it was."

They were quiet for another minute before Irey said, "Let's talk about something else.  This is starting to depress me."

Lian sighed heavily, then looked up and said quietly, "Irey?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm scared."

Irey wrapped her arms around her friend again.  "I know.  I was scared when I first got here, too.  But, you have to remember, we're here for a reason.  If we're here, then our parents don't have to worry about us while they're out there.  They can focus on taking care of the threat, instead of taking care of us."

"I hope so."

The conversation turned to general catching-up topics for the friends, who hadn't seen each other for weeks, even before the start of the crisis.  They gabbed for the next hour, until there was a knock on the door.  Lian opened it to reveal Jai, who sent a goofy, yet nervous, grin at the girl.

"Oh, there you are.  I was looking for you."

Irey rolled her eyes at her brother, who was harboring a secret crush on the dark-haired girl, as Lian said, "Hi, Jai.  What's up?"

Lian walked back into the room and sat on the bed, next to Irey.  Jai sat on the other side of his sister and playfully batted at one of her pigtails.  "We were going to start another movie.  I just wanted to see if you two wanted to watch it."

"What are you watching," Irey asked, swatting at his hand.

"I don't know yet, but Robin is making popcorn.  Jon and Gar are choosing the next movie."

"I am kind of hungry," Lian said.

Jai smiled, "Then let's go."

They walked into the Rec Room to see Jon and Gar kneeling in front of a cabinet, pulling out an ever-increasing pile of DVD's and videos.  Robin was setting two giant bowls of popcorn on the coffee table as Gar held up a video.

"How about Titanic?"

Jon looked skeptical.  "It's cool when the boat sinks, but all that romance stuff...yuck."

Garfield and Irey started to laugh when Robin spoke up authoritatively, "No.  We aren't watching that one."

"Why not," Lian asked.

Robin had to think quickly, "It's rated above where your parents would allow, due to your ages."

Garfield read the back of the box, "It's rated PG-13.  You just let us watch Die Hard, and that's rated R."

"What's the real reason you don't want to watch it, Robin," Irey asked curiously.

All eyes were on the Boy Wonder, who sighed as his head fell.  He mumbled, "It's my girlfriend's favorite movie.  I'm not watching it without her."  _I'll just miss her even more if we watch it,_ Robin thought to himself.

Jai smirked, "That is not Irey"s favorite movie."

Irey blushed darker than her hair as Robin sent a glare at the other speedster.  "Keep it up, Jai, and you might not be conscious to watch the next movie."

Trying to head off an incident, Jon held up another movie.  "How about the Lion King?"

Robin tried to hide his wince. _Of course he would want to watch Grayson's favorite movie.  Actually, that might not be too bad.  I just don't know what watching that movie would be like, without him here to cry on me when Mufasa dies._

Garfield shook his head, "I don't know.  It's a good movie, but talking animals aren't very believable."

Jon laughed and nudged the emerald youth, "Remind me of what your super power is again?"

That remark got a laugh from the speedsters.  Lian sat down on the couch and grabbed a handful of hot popcorn.  "That one sounds good to me.  I haven't seen that one in a while."

Jon looked hopefully up and asked, "Gar?"

Garfield sighed with mock gravity, "Oh, why not.  It'll give me a chance to see if there are any animals in there that I haven't tried yet."

The speedsters sat on the couch, next to Lian.  Irey said, "Let's watch it."

Jai turned to where Robin was standing, behind the couch, "Any objections to this one?"

"No," Robin shook his head, "Go ahead and start it, I have to check on something.  Don't wait for me."

Jon shrugged and turned on the movie.

Following the death of Mufasa, Jon looked around and noticed that Robin hadn"t returned to the Rec Room.

Irey leaned over to the super boy, having noticed ten minutes earlier that Robin hadn't come back, and said quietly, "If he didn't want to watch it, he could have just said so."

After another few minutes, Jon stood up.  Jai looked over and asked, "Where are you going?"

"Bathroom," Jon lied easily, "Don't stop the movie."

Jon walked into the hallway and wondered where Robin could have gone.  He remembered his father's lessons about hearing more than just what was around him.  He followed Superman's teachings to allow his ears to hear what normal human ears couldn't.  Softly, he heard a strange sound.  If he remembered what he had been taught correctly, the sound was coming from above him.

Jon took the elevator up one floor, then followed his ears to a room that Robin hadn't shown them on their tour of the Mountain.  He walked into a mostly white, painfully clean, infirmary and gasped.  Robin stood in front of a mirror with his shirt pulled up and held under his chin.  A mass of deep purple bruising spread across his chest and stomach.  Robin winced occasionally as he spread bruise cream over the discolored flesh.

"That's my fault, isn't it," Jon asked quietly, already knowing the answer.

Robin looked at the boy's reflection in the mirror and said evenly, "You may have caused it, but it was my fault, not yours."

Jon didn't exactly believe Robin's explanation.  "But, I shouldn't have hit you."

"And I shouldn't have tried to choke you.  I think we're even.  This is what I deserve for attacking a half-Kryptonian."

Jon took a step forward, "I still shouldn't have hit you as hard as I did."

Robin took a deep breath and said, "You had every right to defend yourself.  Believe it or not, you accomplished the goal that I was trying to teach you.  I wanted you to be able to get out of a bad situation.  It may not have been exactly what I was trying to teach you, but you proved that you could do it."

Jon still stared guiltily at the bruises on Robin's chest.  Robin sighed and covered himself up again, "Those marks are not all from you, you know.  I knew I would get some bruises in serving as your practice dummy.  Jai got in a couple good shots, too, remember?"

They were awkwardly quiet for a minute before Jon said, "You didn't show us this room on the tour you gave us."

Robin shrugged, "I didn't think we would be here long enough to need it, then.  Remember, we were only supposed to be here for a long weekend at that point in time."

Jon walked forward, until he was standing directly in front of Robin.  He asked sadly, "When is this all going to be over, Robin?"

Robin felt, and understood, the pain evident in Jonathan's voice.  A strange urge came over the Boy Wonder, of a type more akin to the first person to wear his mantle.  Robin awkwardly reached out and pulled Jon into a hug.  The Super Youth went rigid at the thought that he was being attacked again, but once he realized that Robin was trying to comfort him, he relaxed into the embrace.  

"Not soon enough for me, Jon.  We have to believe that our parents are doing everything in their power to finish this."

"Is there anything we can do to help," Jon almost whined softly.

Robin sighed deeply, "Unfortunately, we _are_ doing exactly what they want us to do.  By staying out of the way, we are freeing up the Justice League to handle the situation."

After another minute, Robin released Jon.  Robin would only admit to himself that the physical contact had done just as much for him as it appeared to have done for Jon.  The Super Sons walked out of the infirmary, towards the elevator, thinking about the situation they found themselves in.  As they waited for the elevator, Jon turned to Robin again and said, "Robin?"

"Yeah?"

"That sucks."

Robin gave a small snort of laughter, his mood rising slightly despite his situation, "Yeah.  Yeah, it does.  Come on, let's get back to the movie, before Jai eats all of the popcorn."

 

**A/N/: Almost done with this story now.  This chapter was another one that was added months after the story was finished.  I felt like the tale needed something extra, and this is what I came up with.  I wanted a little more personal interaction.**

**I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.**

**Thanks for playing along.**

**Three chapters seemed to work out yesterday, so here is a third today.  Two more chapters to go.**


	11. Chapter 11

Invasion

Chapter 11

 

Life quickly settled in the days following the arrival of their latest roommate.  It helped that Lian and Irey were friends to smooth the transition.  Robin allowed his charges to think up other games and found ways for them to be considered training.  In general, Robin did his best to put everyone's minds at ease.

Everyone's mind was at ease but his own.  A concern had been nagging at the back of his mind since the arrival of the newest child, and every meal he prepared brought that concern higher up in his mind.  Red Robin had assured him that there was a one month supply of food in the kitchen and in storage, but that supply was based on four people.  He was now feeding six, and the storage supplies were dwindling.

Over the next several days, Robin began spending less time with the other kids.  He stopped eating with them, making the excuse that he ate earlier.  When he did eat with the youths, his plate was always the smallest.  He made the excuse that he wasn't hungry, even with a loudly grumbling stomach.  When asked about that, he claimed indigestion.  Robin made any excuse he could to hide the fact that he wasn't eating, in order to save food for the others.

After a week of pushing the others away, Irey snuck into Robin's room, just after she was sure the others had all gone to bed and were close to sleep.  Robin was laying on his bed, wearing the Batman sweatshirt and a pair of lounge pants.  The speedster couldn't help but notice that he had taken his mask off.

Irey tossed an apple at the boy.  "Eat that, Dami."

Damian caught the flying fruit without looking at it.  He set it on the nightstand and said, "Don't call me that."

Irey took a step closer to the bed, "You don't have a mask on.  I can call you by your name.  That was _your_ rule, remember?"

Damian sighed, "Yes, that was my rule.  You can call me 'Damian', not 'Dami'.  I hate that name."

A giggle escaped the girl as she said, "I didn't know that."

Damian lifted his head to look at the girl, "Before a couple weeks ago, you didn't know anything about me.  It's not surprising that you wouldn't know that.  If all you knew about me came from Grayson, then it isn't surprising that you would think that name was acceptable."

Irey smiled slightly, "Does he call you that?"

"Not anymore," Damian smirked.  "I had to punch him in the mouth to get him to stop, but he eventually got the message.  I trust I don't need to go to those extremes with you?"

The girl shook her head, but Damian could have sworn that the girl was blushing.  With the room as dark as it was, he couldn't swear to it, but he was sure that something was being left unsaid.  "What aren't you telling me, Irey?"

Damian could definitely tell that she was blushing now.  "Um, what you said earlier, that wasn't exactly true."

Damian cocked his head in confusion, "What wasn't exactly true?"

Irey looked down at her feet, "That I didn't know anything about you before meeting you."

Damian rolled his eyes, "Did Grayson run his mouth more than you told me about?"

"Not...not exactly.  After he told me...well, after I heard who you were, or are, or...whatever, I looked you up."

Damian sat up, "Meaning?"

Irey glanced up, "You've had a few mentions in the news, and the society pages.  I...kinda...researched you."

Damian's jaw dropped, "You _researched_ me?  Am I a school project?  Is this part of the training you are receiving from your Father?"

Irey shook her head, "No.  I mean, I wanted to know more about you.  I didn't know if we would ever meet, and if we did, I wanted to know what to expect.  I couldn't help it, you're cute."

Irey's eyes widened and she slapped her hands over her mouth to cover her gasp.  "Oh my god!  I didn't say that!  You didn't hear that.  You totally didn't hear that.  I didn't say that.  I can't believe I said that!"

Damian gave the girl a big smile, just barely stopping the chuckle that wanted to escape his mouth.  "You know I have a girlfriend, right?"

Irey couldn't have looked Damian in the eye right now if he paid her.  She mumbled at her feet, "Yeah.  Dad showed me that Facebook post from Uncle Dick."

It was getting harder and harder to control his laugh.  He smirked at the girl and asked, "Were you as 'devastated' as your Father's reply led Grayson to believe?"

It took a second before Irey was able to reply.  "Are you making fun of me, Damian?" she asked quietly.

"A little," he replied with a shrug, in a smug, satisfied tone.

"I was...surprised.  It's kinda hard to be devastated over someone you've never met."  Irey pointed at the nightstand, "Why aren't you eating the apple?  I know you're hungry."

Damian couldn't deny it, not with his stomach growling like it was.  Reluctantly, he picked up the fruit and took a bite.

"Why did you stop eating, Damian," she asked quietly.

"I eat," he said around a mouthful of apple.

Irey stared straight into his eyes, "Yes, but no more than four bites per meal, though.  You only eat lately when you can't find a way to get away from us.  What did we do wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong," Damian said around another bite of apple.

"Was it one of the others?"

Damian shook his head.

Irey looked ready to either punch Damian, or cry, at the lack of information.  "Then what's going on," she nearly shouted in exasperation.

Damian sighed, "You can't tell anyone about this, okay?  I mean it, I'm swearing you to secrecy."

She nodded, and they both sat back down on the bed.  Damian said nervously, "I haven't been eating because I'm trying to make our food supply last longer.  We...we're running out of food."

Irey's eyes widened again, "What do you mean, we're running out of food?  How can that be possible, I thought we had a lot?"

Damian shook his head, "We did, but we ate most of it.  We had a month's supply, but that was based on four people.  I've been feeding six for the past week, and five for over two weeks before that."

Irey looked concerned, "So, you stopped eating to try to save food?"

Damian gave a short nod, "It's more important for all of you to be well fed and happy than it is for me to be well fed.  I've gone far longer than this on minimal nutrition.  I have emergency rations in my utility belt that will hold me over."

The speedster placed a hand on Damian's shoulder, "Damian, no.  We are a team here.  We can find another way.  We're not going to let you starve.  How about we all skip breakfast?"

Damian shook his head, "No, and I'm not going to starve.  Trust me, this is the best option, for now."

"Then we'll skip lunch.  Surely that will save us a couple days of food.  How are you supposed to protect us when you're too hungry to fight?"

Damian looked at the girl for a minute, "You can't tell the others about this."  He sighed, knowing she was about to protest, "I'll tell everyone tomorrow.  It's my job."

The room fell silent again.  "How much food do we have left," Irey asked.

Damian looked down at the mattress, "If we start cutting back on everything, and I mean _everything,_ we can _maybe_ stretch it for another week.  I wouldn't count on it lasting that long, though."

"Then what?" the girl asked nervously.

"If I remember maps of the area correctly, there is a town about a mile from here.  When it gets down to it, I'll sneak out and get us some more."

"We'll come with you," Irey immediately said.

Damian shook his head violently, "No. Not an option.  Remember, only the Justice League knows you are here.  I can get in and out with less questions, and less danger, on my own.  We don't know how Brainiac is scanning for Metas.  I'm not going to put any of you at risk unnecessarily.  I can go, get food, and be back in just about an hour.  It would take far longer if I had any of you with me."

"But we can..."

"NO," Damian interrupted, "We don't know what the world looks like outside of this mountain.  Arsenal said it wasn't looking good out there.  We have no comms and no idea where Brainiac is.  If I have to sedate all of you while I go, I will.  Don't fight me on this, Irey, please.  It's for your own good."

Irey gave Damian a frustrated glare, "But, you will tell everyone we are running out of food?"

Damian nodded, "Yes, after breakfast."

"...Which you will join us for, or I won't eat."

Damian sighed at the petulant tone, "Refusing food that is already prepared is a bigger waste than not eating.  We can't afford to waste food.  I will eat breakfast with everyone, then I will make lunch optional.  We can have breakfast and dinner, and that should get us an extra day or two.  I'll work on how and when to resupply us.  If the Zeta Tubes were still operational, getting food would be much easier.  I've got a place I could go, but it's not around here."  Damian's stomach began growling again at the thought of Pennyworth's cooking.

Irey stared seriously at Damian, "Okay, but you will tell everyone tomorrow, or I will."

Damian relented, "Fine.  Why don't you go to bed?  It's late."

Irey smirked, "Why don't you walk me back to my room?  It will be one less stop on your nightly inspection tour."

Damian stood and said, "I'm only doing this to be polite, you know."

When they stood outside of Irey's bedroom door, she turned and hugged Damian quickly, "I know.  It's nice to know that you _can_ be polite.  Good night."

Damian stared at the closed door for a minute after Irey shut herself inside, thinking, _friends...weird._   "Good night, Irey," he whispered.

_The Next Morning..._

Following breakfast, Damian's announcement regarding the food situation, and a half hour of questions from his charges, Robin sat in the communications room, scanning maps of the local towns.  Jai walked in and sat next to Robin, with a smile on his face.

"Hey!  The internet is back up.  Cool!"

Robin glanced over and said, "The internet is not back up."

Jai looked confused, "Well, then how did you get Google Maps?"

Robin shook his head, "This isn't Google Maps.  There is such a thing as an atlas program.  We have this saved to the system computer.  That way, we can find places, even with an internet blackout."

"Oh," the speedster said, "What are you looking at?"

Robin was still wondering if Jai knew what an atlas was as he pointed at the screen.  "These are the towns surrounding the Mountain.  I'm trying to find the closest grocery store."

Jai looked sidelong at Robin, "I should go with you when you go.  That way, we can be there and back in no time."

"No," Robin said flatly, "One, I'm not going to ride you like some show pony.  Two, I had this same argument with your sister last night.  It's safer for you all to stay here.  You would be in danger outside of the Mountain.  I won't be."

Jai sighed, "Are we really that close to being out of food?"

Robin hesitated for a second, not wanting to voice what he had found that morning, when cooking breakfast.  "Yes, we are.  My original estimate put us at close to a week of food left.  This morning, I did another survey of the supplies.  I think, at best, we only have two or three days of food left.  Definitely not more than that.  I'll go resupply us in the next day or so.  Don't worry, Jai.  I won't let you starve."

Any comment Jai might have made was cut off as a rumble sounded overhead.  Both boys looked up as the ground started vibrating under their feet, and dust fell from the ceiling.

"What is that, Robin?  Earthquake?"

Robin looked around as the vibration stopped, "I doubt it.  We aren't near any major fault lines."

The vibration started again, stronger and louder than before.  Robin had a sneaking suspicion what was causing it, but didn't want to say anything just yet.  Jon, Gar, Lian, and Irey came running into the room, each looking fearful.

A massive jolt shook the ground, sending Gar and Lian tumbling to the floor.

"What's going on, Robin," a frantic-sounding Jon asked.

Robin looked up again, then back at his charges, hoping what he had to say wouldn't scare them too much.  "I think the war has found us."

He calmly met each set of scared eyes.  "Lian, did anyone teach you the emergency protocol?"

The dark-haired girl swallowed hard, trying to find her voice, "Ye-yes.  On your say so, run.  Bottom floor, hidden room."

Robin nodded, "Good."

The ground started vibrating again.  All eyes turned to look at the wall next to the Zeta Tube.  A metal access door was whining in protest at the load pushing on the other side of the portal, before it flew open with a scream of bending metal.

Through the haze of dust came a sight to turn the blood to ice.  Seven robots, each seven feet tall and gleaming brightly, lumbered into the once-safe space.  Irey and Lian screamed in fright, as something that could have come straight from the future war scenes in The Terminator marched towards the kids.

"Don't move," Robin told his charges.  It was hardly necessary to give the admonition, the youths were frozen in fright.

Reaching into his utility belt, Robin withdrew a collapsible staff.  Extending it with an elaborate spin, Robin ran at full speed towards the closest machine.  The Boy Wonder leapt and hit the robot high on the chest plate with both feet.  Only by moving at top speed was Robin able to generate enough force to topple the construct.  As soon as it hit the ground, Robin stabbed his staff into the green face visor of the robot.  Electronics fizzled and popped as sparks shot out of the machine's face, before all of its lights went dark, and the robot stopped moving.

Robin looked up in time to see a second robot taking a swing at him.  He caught the blow in the chest, and was sent sliding across the Communication Room's floor, to stop at the feet of his shaking charges.

Irey and Jai instantly knelt at his side to help him up.  "What do we do now, Robin," Irey asked fearfully.

Robin took a deep breath, wincing at the pain in his chest, "Run."

Color paled from all of the youth's faces at the last word they wanted to hear.  Jai stuttered, "Robin, we aren't just..."

"We talked about this, Jai," Robin interrupted firmly, almost yelling at the younger boy, "This is what I'm here for, to stand between you and them.  To give you a chance to live.  Now _go,_ damn it.  You're in charge, Jai.  Take them and get the hell out of here, while you still can."

Robin turned back to the robots, taking the measure of his six remaining opponents, while Jai led the kids to the back staircase.  A battle cry escaping his grimly smirking lips, Robin ran forward again.  He ducked under a swinging arm before jumping and climbing up to one robot's shoulders.  He drew a knife and jammed it into the back of the humanoid form's neck, severing the connecting wires controlling the mechanical body.  The robot fell forward, but not before Robin jumped clear.  _Two down, five to go,_ Robin thought.

Robin drew and fired a grappling hook into the chest plate of the last robot in line.  The hook embedded itself in the metal plate, and Robin set the grappling gun to fast retract, using it to fly across the space.  Robin planned to use the momentum to knock the legs out from under the robot, trying to switch up his attacks, so the robots couldn't adapt to his fighting style.

Unfortunately, they had already adapted.  As he passed a machine, his flight was arrested as the robot reached out and snagged Robin's cape in a move almost faster than the eye could track.  The grapple gun flew out of Robin's hand, to bounce harmlessly off of the chest plate of his intended target.  Instead, the robot jerked the boy in the opposite direction.  Robin was very glad, in this moment, that his cape was not tied around his throat, but clipped to the shoulders of his tunic.  Only a small piece of the cape actually sat around his neck, and that was only attached with Velcro, to keep his hood in place.  As the Boy Wonder was jerked back and forth, held off the ground by his cape, Robin tried to reach up and unhook the yellow and black fabric.

The robot beat him to it.  One especially hard jerk, and the sound of tearing fabric filled Robin's ears.  He found himself flying across the room again, watching as the machine he was traveling away from still held his cape, along with a large swatch of fabric that used to comprise the back of his tunic.  Before he landed, Robin had a second to think _sorry, Pennyworth, I didn't want them to rip up my shirt._

Robin was able to roll on landing, and only felt a slight sting on his bare back.  Even so, he still knew he was bleeding.  It may not have been a serious wound, but it was one more wound than he was planning on.

While he had been busy with these two robots, the other three were headed towards the hallway, where the children had disappeared.  _I don't think so,_ Robin thought, as he ran at the escaping machines.  Retrieving his staff as he passed his first victim, he reared back and hurled it like a javelin at the center robot, and was completely surprised when it passed clean through the head of the machine.  The machine dropped lifelessly to the ground as Robin jumped on the back of another one.  The remaining escaping robot turned and aimed a punch at Robin.  Robin let the strike connect, but only because it had to pass through the head of the robot he was currently riding to do so.

Once again, Robin found himself sailing through the air, as his former mount fell to the floor, headless.   _I know I'm named after a bird,_ Robin thought, _but this is ridiculous._

Robin landed awkwardly, knocking the breath out of him on impact.  Looking up from his back, Robin saw the remaining three robots crowding around him.  Robin sighed, thinking _I hope Jai got them to the safe room.  I hope the safe room is going to be safe enough.  I think I'm done for.  I'm sorry Jon...Jai...Garfield...Lian...Irey.  I'm sorry, Father.  I failed...again._

Two of the robots each were pinning his arms to the ground with a foot as the third robot shot a scanning beam over Robin.  Robin winced, even though he felt nothing as the beam passed quickly over his body.  Robin didn't think the result of the scan came up in his favor, because the robot raised a metal foot and positioned it over Robin's head.  Robin came to realize that this was the last thing he was going to see when he heard a scream.  He only had a second to hope that he hadn't made that sound in his final moment of life when the robot's head exploded.

The robot toppled over backwards, but hadn't hit the ground before the heads of the other two robots also exploded.  The last three alien constructs settled to the ground, the echoes of their falls ringing in Robin's ears as a blue and red blur slid to a stop at Robin's side.

"Are you alright, Robin," Jon asked, leaning over the teen as he tried to catch his breath.

"Superboy," Robin asked incredulously.  A nervous grin crossed the half-Kryptonian's face before Robin continued, "Why aren't you in the shelter with the others?"

Superboy pulled Robin to his feet, brushing dust and dirt off of what was left of Robin's shirt, "I thought you might need some help."

Robin glared firmly at the boy as he channeled his father and went into lecture mode, "Do you remember the part where these guys are looking for Metas, like yourself?  Do you remember the part about them wanting to kill you?  They want to harvest your powers to make themselves stronger.  You could have given them a huge boost just now.  We don't know how they harvest that power.  We don't know if they can suck it out of you with a laser beam, or if they have to touch you, or anything about them.  You disobeyed a direct order."

"But they were going to kill you," Superboy interrupted sheepishly.

"Then they would have killed me, and my sacrifice would have bought you the time needed to get to a safe place.  I told you to run, to get to safety.  You put yourself in unnecessary danger...and I'm thankful that you did."

Superboy looked up, shocked at the change in attitude in the last several seconds, "Wait, what?"

"I am alive, thanks to you.  Why did you come back?  Why did you step in like that?"

Superboy answered meekly, "They were going to kill you."

Robin nodded softly, "I know.  I'm not afraid to die.  I probably should have died years ago, after everything I've done.  My only regret was knowing that I'd failed my mission.  But, I didn't, thanks to you."

Robin took a deep breath, his last several minutes finally catching up with him.  He looked over at Superboy and said, "You're getting pretty good with that heat vision.  I need you to use it again, though."

"O-okay," Superboy sounded confused.  "You...you aren't mad at me?"

Robin shook his head, "No, I'm mad at you.  You didn't follow the only order that I gave you.  From day one, you agreed to run if I said run.  Now, when it was time to follow through, you didn't.  I can't be too mad, though.  You _did_ save my life."

Superboy gave a cautious smile and said, "What did you want me to do with the heat vision?"

Robin pointed around the room, "I want you to use it to melt the heads of all of the robots.  At least, the ones you didn't already explode.  Don't get too close to them, and definitely don't touch them.  We need to make sure they are inactive."

Superboy ran around the room, quickly doing what he had been asked.  The robots scared him, and he was glad to have a part in taking them down.

When he was finished, Robin called out to him from the invader's entry point.  "Over here."

Superboy couldn't help but notice that Robin had shed the remaining tatters of his tunic, and he gasped as he saw the older boy's back.  "You're bleeding."

Robin shrugged, "It's not too bad.  Just a scrape, really."

Superboy still sounded amazed as he walked closer and saw Robin's scars.  The Boy Wonder was surprised when a finger lightly made contact with his back for the briefest of seconds, in the midst of the tangled web of scar tissue that crisscrossed his back.  "What did they do to you," Jon whispered.

"Only the scratch," Robin said shortly, "Help me with the door."

The Super Youth and the Boy Wonder were able to bend the door back into a fair approximation of its original shape, and get it closed.  Once it was there, Robin ordered, "Use your heat vision and weld up the seam."

Superboy hesitated for a second, "If I do that, won't we be trapped in here?"

Robin smirked, "We're already trapped in here.  Besides, there is more than one way in and out of the Mountain.  Just do it."

Finished with his task to Robin's satisfaction, Superboy couldn't keep his eyes off of Robin's scars.  He didn't mean to say it out loud, but he whispered, "You have a lot of scars."

Robin looked down, his hand unconsciously rising to the thick surgery scar on his chest, "I've seen a lot of action.  They're just a part of the business, Superboy."

Robin's eyes widened as he looked across the room, "Oh, no.  Shit.  How did that happen?"

Scared, Superboy looked around before asking, "What?"

Robin pointed to the computer console, which was smashed and smoking gently.

Superboy seemed confused, "They broke the computer?  But, don't we still have the ones in the Rec Room?"

Robin growled, "Yes, we do, but that one was the main communications console for the entire installation.  It doesn't matter if the communications networks are down, it was still useful.  Now, it's been destroyed."

They were quiet for a minute, Superboy still trying to ignore the beginnings of a hopeless tone, which had seeped into Robin's voice just a second ago.  Superboy asked, "Do you want me to clean this up?  It will only take me a minute."

Robin took a deep breath, "No, leave everything exactly how it is.  These robots could still be dangerous.  I don't want anyone coming back to this level."  Robin turned and glared at Superboy, "I mean _anyone._   That is a direct order, and there will be consequences for not following this one.  Understood?"

"Yes, Robin," Superboy said obediently.

Robin nodded, "Good.  Why don't you go downstairs and get everyone else out of the safe room?  I'm going to go put on another shirt.  Let's meet in the dining room in ten minutes, I think our plans need to change."

They walked to the elevator, and Robin was surprised when Superboy followed him off at the living quarters.  "Didn't you hear what I said?"

Superboy met Robin's eyes the best he could through Robin's mask.  "I heard you, and I will, but first, you need to come with me.  Your back is still bleeding.  The least I can do is clean it and bandage it for you."

Robin had forgotten about his wound.  He spoke sheepishly as he said, "Oh, yeah.  Um, thank you.  I...I appreciate that.  Wait, do you even know how to clean and dress a wound?"

It was Superboy's turn to smirk, "No, but you do, and I'm a quick learner.  You can talk me through it."

Robin considered the eager child at his side, "I suppose you wouldn't have to worry too much about getting cuts and scrapes, would you?"

Superboy giggled as they got back in the elevator, to go back up to the infirmary, on the main level.  "Not really, no.  Um...how did you...um...get all of those scars?"

A lifetime of haunting imagery flashed before Robin's eyes in a second.  He gave an involuntary shudder and said, "It's probably best that you don't know the details.  They aren't really good stories, and I think you would hate hearing them just as much as I hate telling them."

Superboy considered the answer while looking at Robin.  "Does anyone know the whole story?"

Robin looked straight ahead, "Yes. I do."

"Does anyone else?"

Robin barely controlled the quiver in his lower lip as he whispered, "Only one person.  Someone I trust more than anyone else on the planet."

"Batman," Superboy asked curiously.

"No," Robin said softly.  "He knows a lot of it, but not all of it."

Superboy pointed for Robin to sit on an exam table as he pulled out the bandages that Robin pointed out to him.  "That's sad, Robin."

Robin just stared at Superboy, who grew uncomfortable and changed the subject.  Holding up the bandages, Superboy asked, "How do I make this better?"

 

**A/N: The Facebook message Irey mentioned is the same one from the beginning of Political Party.  One more chapter to go, I hope you've liked this one.**

**Thanks for playing along.**


	12. Chapter 12

Invasion

Chapter 12

 

Beast Boy rolled his eyes over a small breakfast, two days after the robot attack on Mount Justice.  "Dude, you've been hovering over us ever since the attack.  Chill out a bit."

Robin sighed, "Yes, I've been hovering.  Yes, I'm nervous.  We still don't know what those robots are, or how they work, or...if more are on their way.  Like it or not, the war has come to us.  If I'm hovering, it's only because I can't have any more insubordination."

Jon blushed as Robin stared pointedly at him.  Jai sighed loudly and said, "We get that, but are you sure this is the best plan?"

Robin turned to the other boy, "It is the only plan, and it has to be done now."

"Why now," Lian asked.

Robin turned to the girl, wondering why everyone was choosing this moment to argue with him.  "Did you enjoy breakfast this morning?"

"Yes," Lian said warily, "Why?"

Robin met each set of eyes before saying, "I'm glad you all enjoyed it, because that was the last of the food.  The storage and the kitchen are officially empty.  So, as I hope you can understand now, it is imperative that I go and get us more.  You are all going to stay in your rooms, or the Rec Room, while I am gone.  I'll know if you go anywhere else."

"How will you know," Jon asked curiously.

Robin grimaced, "Because I planted trackers on all of you."

"You didn't trust us," Irey said, sounding betrayed.

Robin huffed in frustration, "I needed to know where all of you were at any given moment.  How can I possibly keep you safe if I don't know where you are?"

Jai asked, "Where are they?"

Robin sighed, "They're in your clothes.  _All_ of your clothes.  You want me to not be able to track you, you're going to have to walk around naked."

Jon smiled brightly, "So, that's how you won all those games of hide and seek?"

Robin smirked, "Just the first one."

Irey looked confused, "How did you get trackers into all of our clothes?"

"No one else volunteered to do the laundry," Robin said with a shrug.

"Okay," Beast Boy said, "So, what's the plan?"

Robin shook his head, "Like I said, you all will stay on this level.  I will go and get us more food.  I will be gone for probably an hour, but definitely less than two."

"Why do you get to go, and not any of us," Jai asked.

Robin turned to meet the speedster's gaze, "Do any of you have money?"

Five stunned faces met his gaze.  A smirk grew on the Boy Wonder's face at their reaction.  "What, did you think I was just going to _steal_ the food?  That's something the bad guys would do.  I may not always be good, but I'm not outright bad.  Stay here, I'll..."

Robin trailed off as he whipped his head towards the door.  His eyes widened under his mask.

"Robin, what's wrong?" Irey asked nervously.  She didn't like the sudden shift in Robin's behavior.

Robin was almost shaking with new nerves as he said quickly, "New plan.  All of you, get to the Rec Room and lock yourselves in.  If you don't go voluntarily, _right_ _now_ , I will knock you out and tie you to your beds.  If you think I'm playing around right now, just try me."

"What?  Why?" Jai asked.

Robin turned back to the kids and shouted, "Just do it."  The youths took a step back in fear, and Robin took a deep breath.  Speaking in a more civilized tone, Robin said, "I heard something, and if it is what I think it is, we might be in trouble.  I will investigate and let you know.  Go, now."

Robin waited until he heard the lock click behind the youths reluctantly hiding in the Rec Room before making his way stealthily up to the Communications Room.  Robin may have told the children that he wasn't sure what he heard, but that was a lie.  He knew for certain that the sound of the extra generators kicking on meant that the Zeta Tubes had been reactivated.  The big question now was who flipped the switch.  Until he knew for sure, Robin would treat this as the herald of another invasion.

Robin stood in the hallway, out of sight of the main room, holding his breath to better hear what was going on in the next room.  _There is definitely people moving around in there.  Three, I think.  No, wait, four.  I can't make out what they're saying from here.  Damn it, I have to get closer._

"What happened here?"

"Isn't it obvious?  Brainiac happened."

"Looks like the kids put up a fight."

"Yeah, but who won?"

"Look, isn't that Robin's cape?"

"Yes, and I think this is part of his shirt over here.  What happened here?"

Robin's eyes widened under his mask, as he finally recognized the voices.  His heart was trying to jump out of his chest, and his breath was coming in ragged gasps.  _Is this real,_ he thought to himself.  _I hope this is real.  I need to find out, but please let this be real._

Robin stuck his head around the corner and saw the four most beautiful sights he had seen in weeks.  Batman, Nightwing, Superman, and Flash were looking around at the wreckage of the Communications Room.  They were too busy and distracted to see the young head that slipped back into the hallway.

_It's them.  They made it.  Or, did they?  Is it really them?  If I was Brainiac, and I had found us, I would come in forms that we would trust, to make it easier to take us.  God, I really hope it's them.  Good thing there is a surefire way to find out for sure.  Here goes._

Robin took a deep, nervous breath, and stepped around the corner, just barely into the room.  Still unnoticed by the four adults, he called out loudly, "Bravo, X-ray, Victor, Charlie."

Four adult gazes snapped in his direction, to find the youth standing, holding his staff at the ready.  Superman made to move towards the boy when Nightwing grabbed his arm and yanked him back, hard.  He whispered to Superman and Flash, "No one move.  Just let this play out."

Superman asked, "Identity cyphers?"

Nightwing nodded slightly, "Yes, and if he is starting with _that_ one, he thinks that we aren't who we appear to be, and this is a life and death situation."

Batman turned to look at his youngest, a hint of a smile playing at the corner of his lips.  He took a step closer and replied, "Alpha, Romeo, Delta, Hotel."

Robin was drinking in the sight of Batman hungrily as he said, "Knight to Queen's Rook three."

Batman took another step forward, "Bishop to King's Knight four."

"Palmetto," Robin said, while flashing four quick signs with his right hand, held down at his side.

Batman said nothing as he gave six signs with his left hand, held just in front of the buckle on his utility belt.  He took two more steps forward.

Speaking a bit more softly, now that they were just a few feet apart, Robin said, "Verify Victor Zulu."

Batman also spoke in a quieter tone as he replied, "Klondike brown door."

Now close enough to almost be stepping on each other's feet, Robin whispered, "Authenticator sixty-three."

Batman whispered back gently, "Penny Lane."

"Father," the boy gasped.

In the background, Flash asked Nightwing softly, "What the hell just happened?"

Nightwing sighed softly, "Robin just tested our identities.  We passed.  Wow, five authenticators; he must have had a hard time here.  The most I ever felt the need to use was three."

Superman leaned over and whispered, "Why do I get the feeling that we would be in a fight right now if Batman had gotten one of those wrong?"

"Because you know Batman, and that is what he trained us to do.  If Batman had failed, Robin wouldn't stop fighting until he had taken all of us down, or we had taken him down."

On the other side of the room, Robin was looking Batman up and down, feeling too lucky to be in the same room as his Father, after all this time.  "You could have called, Father.  You said four days.  It's been twenty-six."

Batman picked up their old banter, as if they had been separated for twenty-six minutes, not twenty-six days.  "We were detained.  We _did_ just win a world war."  Batman cleared his throat, reveling in the sight of his youngest before him, "Report, son."

A small smile came to Robin's face, "Six, alive and healthy.  That reminds me..."

Robin walked to an intercom panel on the wall next to the hallway, "Situation clear, code Cherry Pie.  Report to the Communications Room immediately."

Batman smirked, "Cherry Pie?"

Robin blushed slightly, "I let Jai pick the code word.  I've tried to follow your orders, Father, but I had to improvise a bit."

Batman looked around the room while saying, "Which is exactly what I expect you to do.  What happened here?"

Robin looked at the carnage of the communications room for the first time since the end of the attack.  "They came two days ago.  I did my best to take them out, but Superboy had to pick up where I failed."

The tone and report caught Batman's attention, "You're alive, and I assume the others are, too.  You didn't fail."

"There is a complete log in our quarters, Father."

The ding of the elevator heralded the arrival of the youths.  Several seconds after the bell, five youths nervously crowded around Robin, wondering if they could believe their eyes.  Robin looked at the superheroes, then back at the super youths before saying to the kids, "They're real.  It's over."

Instantly, three gusts of wind blew past Robin, in search of their parents.  Robin turned back to Batman, who held a mysterious, prideful look on his face.  "Let's go home, son," Batman said softly.

Tears were almost welling up in Robin's eyes, and he was glad he was wearing a mask.  _Home.  I've never wanted that more in my life, but..._ "No."

"No," Batman asked, shocked.

"No, I made a promise to them.  I was the first one in, I'll be the last one out."

Batman nodded, "No, _we'll_ be the last ones out."

Arsenal came through the Zeta Tube as Superman, Flash, and their kids approached.  Superman said, "We're going to go get their stuff and get out of here.  Thank you, Robin, this means everything to us."

Robin blushed again, wanting them to leave, so he could go home, "Thank your kids, they are the ones who had to put up with me."

Nightwing finally approached and ruffled Robin's hair with his right hand.  Robin noticed that the man's left hand was wrapped in a bandage.  "What happened to you," the boy asked.

Nightwing smirked, "It's just a sprained wrist.  War, you know."

Starfire came through the Tube to collect Beast Boy, and Robin overheard happily that Titan's Tower survived the war untouched.  With everyone accounted for, Robin, Batman, and Nightwing turned to head for the stairs.

In their quarters, Nightwing packed Robin's clothes quickly while Batman answered Robin's questions.

"I know the invasion force was huge, but what took so long?"

Batman leaned against the door and said, "Brainiac was able to get his hands on a couple Metas before we could find them.  His device worked wonderfully, and horribly.  Three Metas were enough to power an army.  It extended the war by another week, at least."

Robin then asked the question he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to, "What happened to Red Robin?"

"He made it off the Watchtower in one piece," Batman said, "He was badly injured.  Agent A had to induce a coma to be able to treat him.  He was in coma for three days.  He's back to himself now, though."

Robin sighed, relieved at the news.  His look took a downturn, and Nightwing called him on it.  "What's that look for?"

"Today is Wednesday.  I have to go to school tomorrow, don't I?  How do we explain my absence?"

Nightwing smiled, "You don't have to explain anything.  If you remember, A called you out sick the first few days.  Once the war really got started, though, the civilian world basically stopped.  Attacks would come at any time and at any place.  All schools, and most businesses, have been closed for the duration.  You really haven't missed anything.  Tell me, though.  Why haven't you hugged either of us yet?"

Robin had a hard time not jumping at both of them right then, "Because if I start now, I won't stop.  I've waited this long, I can wait until we get home.  I don't want to hug Batman and Nightwing, I want to hug my Father and Brother."

Batman, Robin, and Nightwing returned to the Communications Room to find everyone that Robin thought had left lined up in front of the Zeta Tube.  Superman smiled as he spoke from the rear of the group, "They wouldn't leave without saying good bye."

Robin nodded, secretly pleased that he had meant something to them.  _If I meant something to them, then maybe this mission was a success after all.  "_ Good bye, then."

Instead of leaving, Robin was instantly surrounded by the other youths, who obviously wanted more than that simple farewell.  Robin tried to play it off, but was blushing furiously as he said, "Haven't you all had enough of me?  Go home, be with your families."  _So I can go home and be with mine._

The group broke up after another minute, and the three vigilantes were the last ones left.  Nightwing smirked and said, "You made friends.  I knew you could do it.  I'm proud of you, little brother."

Robin sighed contentedly, "Let's go home."

Stepping out of Mount Justice and into the Batcave had to be the most appreciated step Robin had ever taken in his life.  The computerized voice surprised Robin when it announced 'B-30' after his name, instead of 'F-01'."

"B-30," he asked.

Batman nodded, "It seemed appropriate, given the circumstances."

Robin made it all of two steps away from the Zeta Tube before he peeled his mask off.  As much as he had missed the sight before him, he turned around and threw himself at his Father.  "I missed you, Father," was whispered wetly by the boy.

Bruce pulled the cowl off and knelt to be on his son's level.  "I missed you, too, son.  How bad was it?"

Damian sniffled, "It wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be.  I just...we lost contact for so long.  I needed you, and Grayson, and Drake, and Todd, and Pennyworth.  I didn't know how to handle everything on my own."

"You seemed to do okay, son," Bruce whispered in the boy's ear.

"Only because I tried to channel each of you.  I would have been lost without your teachings."

They held on to each other for several more minutes before Bruce said, "Let's get changed and cleaned up and go upstairs.  I know several people who want to see you."

Hope entered Damian's voice for the first time in weeks, "Can we eat, too?  You might not be too happy about this, but I haven't really been doing that too much lately.  We ran out of food this morning.  I was on my way to try to resupply us when you arrived."

"We can do whatever you want, Damian," Bruce said gently, leading his son to the locker room.

As they changed, Damian asked, "Can we eat outside?  I haven't seen the sun in twenty-six days.  I...I just want to make sure that the sky didn't fall while I was underground."

Bruce nodded as they entered their separate shower stalls.  "I don't think that is too much to ask, son."

For the first twenty-four hours after returning home, Damian didn't stray more than five feet from Bruce's side.  Bruce didn't mind when Damian climbed into his lap while sitting on the couch, or when he followed Bruce into his bed at bedtime.  To be honest, Bruce felt that if Damian hadn't climbed into his bed, Bruce might have sought out Damian's.  He had missed his son just as much as it seemed Damian missed him.  He had put a lot on the boy's shoulders, and they had been apart for too long.  The constant contact to reassure the boy that everything was truly over was fine, but Bruce drew the line when he found Damian waiting for him outside of the bathroom door.

The rest of the family understood what was going on, and they let the youngster work it out of his system.  They had all had similar moments in their past when the only thing that would make it all better was Bruce, and they all wanted to give Damian a chance to have that.

The following day was split amongst his brothers.  Even Jason consented to spend an hour or two with the youth, to talk about the last three and a half weeks.  As the one left to watch the city, Jason had had the most normal time of any of them.

Damian spent far longer with Tim, even though only six words passed between them.  Upon walking into the library, and almost sitting in Tim's lap, Damian had whispered, "I'm glad you're not dead, Drake," before leaning his head on the man's shoulder and taking a nap while Tim read a book.

Dick occupied the youth's attention gladly, from just before dinner to the following morning.  He had missed his Little D almost as much as Bruce had missed his youngest son.  It was the best night's sleep Dick had enjoyed since the start of the war.

The following morning, breakfast was followed by the longest hug Alfred had received in years, and the longest embrace from Damian that the butler had ever received.

"You just missed my cooking, young man."

Damian smirked, "Not just your cooking.  You have, by far, the most difficult job around here.  I got a taste of what that's like these past few weeks.  I'm glad I had your example to follow, otherwise I would have had no idea what to do."

Alfred actually blushed as Dick walked into the kitchen.  "Hey, there you are.  Landlines are working again.  I just got off the phone with Wally.  He said he had to have a long talk with Irey, after he thought he saw her give you a kiss before they left Mount Justice."

Damian's cheeks darkened, but he said, "Oh, good.  That _was_ her.  I was afraid it might have been Jon.  Everyone was so crowded around, it was hard to tell who was where."

Dick looked at Damian carefully, "Jon?"

"Yes.  Superboy."

Dick nodded, "I know who he is, but you called him 'Jon'."

Damian looked confused, "Yeah, and?"

"Not 'Kent'?  You called him by his first name.  You won't even call _me_ by my first name."

Damian's eyes widened as he realized that he had been calling all of the kids by their first names.  "I didn't even notice I was doing that," he said softly.  Turning to Dick, he said, "You told me to relax and make it easier on them.  I...I tried.  You know, how I was raised, use of first names implies familiarity, while use of last names implies respect.  At least, that's how it was explained to me.  Would...would you like me to start calling you Dick?"

Dick thought for a long minute.  _I've wanted that since we started getting closer, but, I mean, I don't think I would know who he was talking to if he called me something other than Grayson._   "If it won't hurt anything, I'd like you to call me whatever you feel comfortable calling me.  To be honest, you've done it for so long, I might miss it if you stopped calling me Grayson."

Damian smiled and said softly, "I _do_ respect you, Grayson.  I...I don't know what to do now."

Bruce walked into the kitchen and sat next to Damian, just listening to the conversation.  Damian leaned back into his Father as Dick continued.  "Anyway, Wally gave me an earful about your mission, from his kid's point of view."

Damian sighed, "I tried to make it bearable for them.  Did I fail that badly?"

Dick smirked, "You tell me.  According to Wally's little speedsters, you were the first one to wake up in the morning, the last one to go to sleep every night.  You checked on them in the night, to make sure they were sleeping well.  You played counselor to them several times.  You handled all of the cooking, the laundry, and most of the cleaning.  You were honest with them about what was really going on in the world.  You helped them out when they were scared or sad.  You started a training program with an eye on keeping them safe."

Damian interrupted, "I'm not sure that one should be listed in the positives column.  It...it didn't end well."

Dick nodded, "Maybe not, but they still learned more about escape and evasion than Wally could teach them.  You made simple games to waste time and keep them occupied, and you related them to different aspects of training.  You protected them against all seven of those attacking robots."

Damian interrupted again, "I didn't.  Superboy had to help with those.  He saved my life, when I failed to protect them from the invaders."

Dick shrugged the admission away, "Last, and most impressive to them, when you started running out of food, you sacrificed your meals to make the supply last longer, while keeping your charges fed."

"Is that true, Damian," Bruce asked.

Damian held on to the arms wrapped around his shoulders, "It was more important that they stay happy and healthy for as long as possible.  I was going to get more food when you came to pick us up."

"I finished reading your log and full report last night," Bruce said.  "I made sure to forward a copy to Clark.  You didn't mention shorting your own meals to give to the others."

"If you read the log closely, it's in there.  I wish you hadn't said that last part out loud, though.  I can already see Pennyworth planning dinner, with an eye on stuffing me."

"Quite right, Master Damian," the butler said, having a difficult time hiding the pride he felt in his youngest charge at the moment.

Bruce smiled, "I talked to Clark last night.  He said his kid won't stop talking about you."

Dick smiled, "I knew you would make friends, Brother."

Damian sighed as Bruce squeezed his shoulders tightly.  He then looked up and asked, "You said the phone lines are working again?"

Dick nodded, "Yep.  Cell networks will take a little longer, though."

Damian smiled, "That's okay.  The Abbey's have a landline.  Thanks, Dick."

Damian trotted out of the room, followed by the astonished stares from his elders.

"Hello, Abbey residence.

Damian gave the most contented sigh of his life as Robin's voice filtered through the speaker and filled up his heart.  He took a deep breath, feeling slightly nervous, before saying, "Hey, beautiful.  You have no idea how much I've missed you."

 

**A/N: And that is the end of the Invasion.  Let me know if you liked it, and if you would like to see more like this.  I have a few ideas, but I want to see the reaction to this first before I invest too much time in them.  If it doesn't sound like my new ideas would be appreciated, then I won't do them.  Also, let me know if you would like to see the war from the other side of the mountain.  I haven't planned anything in that direction, but it could be done.  I think that one will take quite a long time to put together, though.  I won't consider doing it unless there is significant interest in such a project, just because it will probably take the same four months that this one took to write.**

**Like always, thanks for playing along.**


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